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PRINCETON,     N.     J. 


J^  zs/yl 


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i3A  9178  .B666  E3  1878 
Boardman,  Henry  A.  1808- 
1880. 

Earthly  suffering  and 
neavenlv  glorv 

/        A'liml'er 


EARTHLY    SUFFERING 


AND 


HEAVENLY  GLORY 


WITH  OTHER  SERMONS. 


EARTHLY    SUFFERING 

AND 

HEAVENLY  GLORY: 


WITH    OTHER    SERMONS. 


/    BY 

HENRY    A.   BOARDMAN,   D.D. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT   &   CO. 
1878. 


Copyright,  1878,  by  J.  B.  Lippincott  &  Co. 


PREFACE. 


With  a  single  exception,  these  sermons  were 
prepared  and  preached  in  the  ordinary  routine  of 
the  Author's  Pastoral  ministrations. 

The  closing  discourse  of  the  series  was  delivered 
before  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  at  the  opening  of  its  Annual  Sessions  in 
Nashville,  Tennessee,  May  17,  1855.  It  was  printed 
by  order  of  the  General  Assembly,  and  is  still 
issued  from  the  press  of  the  Presbyterian  Board 
of  Publication.  It  has  seemed  proper  to  include 
it  in  this  volume,  by  reason  of  the  persistent  and 
increasing  efforts  put  forth,  alike  in  England  and  in 
our  own  country,  to  revive  the  noxious  heresy  of  an 
Official  Human  Priesthood  in  the  Christian  Church. 

131 1  Spruce  Street,  Philadelphia,  April,  1878. 


CONTENTS, 


SERMON    I. 

Ciutblp  ^iifcrinfl  ant)  ^ciuu-nli)  ©lorp. 

"  J^or  /reckon  that  the  suffermgs  of  this  present  time 
are  not  worthy  to  be  compared  with  the  glory 
which  shall  be  revealed  in  us. " — Romans  viii.  i  8       1 1 

SERMON    II. 

UJt)ttt  tljtnk  i;c  of  (Hljmt? 

* '  What  think  ye  of  Christ .?" — Matthew  xxii.  42    .       2>^ 

"SERMON    III. 
■Stljc  ittpstcri)  of  Pronilicnce. 
"Lo,  these  are  parts  of  His  ways.'' — Job  xxvi.  14    .       62 

SERMON    IV. 

tl)c  €\)\\xc\) :  lllnitt;  in  JDiticraiti) ;  JJ'mcreitp  in  Initp. 

^'  For  as  the  body  is  one,  a?td  hath  many  tnembers, 
and  all  the  members  of  that  one  body,  being 
mafiy,  are  one  body:  so  also  is  Christ.'' — 
I.  Corinthians  xii.  12   .         .         .         .         '83 

7 


8  Contents. 

SERMON  V. 
tkliempticm,  a  <S•ta^lj  to  tijc  5lngcl8. 

PAGE 

^^  Which  things  the  angels  desire  to  look   into.^^ — 

I.  Peter  i.  12 108 

SERMON   VI. 
(Stljriet,  tl)c  jDcsirc  of  lUl  llationa. 
"And  the   Desire  of  all  nations    shall  corned — 

Haggai  ii.  7  .  .         .  .         .         .         .      132 

SERMON   VII. 
(iBoi  tl)c  onli)  rtbciuiiUc  Portion  of  tl)f  ^-oiil. 

"Whom  have  I  in  heaven  but  Thee?  and  there  is 
nofie  upon  earth  that  I  desire  beside  Thee.'^ — 
Psalm  Ixxiii.  25     .....         .     156 

SERMON   VIII. 
®ljc  .Scnpturc  JDoctrinc  of  tJcuinrlis. 

"He  that  receiveth  a  prophet  in  the  name  of  a 
prophet,  shall  receive  a  prophef  s  retvard;  and 
he  that  receiveth  a  righteous  man  in  the  name 
of  a  righteous  man,  shall  receive  a  righteous 
man's  reward.'' — Matthew  x.  41  .         .180 

SERMON    IX. 
■SlIjc  cStillino  of  tijc  tempest. 

"And  when  He  was  entered  into  a  ship.  His  disci- 
ples followed  Him.  And,  behold,  there  arose 
a  great  tempest  in  the  sea,  insomuch  that  the 
ship  was  covered  with  the  waves :  but  He  was 


Contents.  9 

asleep.  And  His  disciples  came  to  Him,  and 
awoke  Him,  saying.  Lord,  save  us :  we  perish. 
And  He  saith  unto  them,  Why  are  ye  fearful, 
O  ye  of  little  faith  ?  Then  He  arose,  and  re- 
buked the  winds  and  the  sea  ;  and  there  was  a 
great  calm.  But  the  men  marvelled,  saying. 
What  manner  of  man  is  this,  that  even  the 
winds  and  the  sea  obey  Him!'' — Matthew 
viii.  23-27      .......     203 

SERMON    X. 

€l)c  ^rrooanrc  l1n^  CiHiriciousncsa  nf  tl)c  tUorl^,  in  iciUing 
luitl)  true  \lcliflion. 

' '  But  whereunto  shall  I  liken  this  generation  ?  It 
is  like  unto  childreji  sitting  in  the  markets,  and 
calling  unto  their  fellows,  and  saying.  We  have 
piped  ti7ito  you,  and  ye  have  not  danced ;  we 
have  mourned  unto  you,  and  ye  have  not 
lamented.  For  John  came  neither  eating  nor 
drinking,  and  they  say,  He  hath  a  devil.  The 
Son  of  man  came  eating  and  drinking,  and  they 
say.  Behold  a  man  gluttonous,  and  a  wine- 
bibber,  a  friend  of  publicans  and  sinners.  But 
wisdom  is  Just  if  ed  of  her  children.'' — Mat- 
thew xi.  16-19      ......     226 

SERMONXI. 
Plouflljinfl  in  ;0opc. 

'^  That  he  that  plougheth  should  plough  iti  hope." — 

I.  Corinthians  ix.  10    .         .         .         .         .251 


lo  Contents. 

SERMON    XII. 
€ljc  Balm  o\  (Dilcab. 

PAGE 

'■'Is  there  no  balm  in  Gilead ;  is  there  no  Physician 

there?'^ — Jeremiah  viii.  22  ...     273 

SERMON    XIII. 
^I)c  JSiuiioiir,  n  ^tranflfr  to  ;^ig  iFricnlis. 
''Have  I  been  so  long  time  with  you,  and  yet  hast 

thou  not  known  me  f'' — John  xiv.  9  .  .     296 

SERMON    XIV. 

Cl)n8t  (Slorificii  in  ^10  People. 

"  I  am  glorified  in  them.'' — John  xvii.  10        .         -319 

SERMON    XV. 
€l)c  Annunciation. 

"And  the  angel  came  in  unto  her,  and  said,  Hail, 
thou  that  art  highly  favored,  the  Lord  is  with 
thee :  blessed  art  thou  among  women.'' — Luke 
i.  28 336 

SERMON    XVI. 

i^lari;  anii  Cryabftlj. 

" Blessed  art  thou  among  women." — Luke  i.  42       .     360 

SERMON    XVII. 
®ljc  (itijrifltian  JHinistrp  not  a  pdcstljooli. 
"  l^his  is  a  true  saying.  If  a  matt  desire  the  office  of 
a  bishop,  he  desireth  a  good  work." — 1.  Tim- 
othy iii.  I 385 


EARTHLY    SUFFERING    AND    HEAVENLY 
GLORY. 


Romans  viii.  i8. 


"  Fen-  I  reckon  that  the  sufferings  of  this  present  time 
are  not  zvortliy  to  be  compared  with  the  glory  wJiich 
shall  be  revealed  hi  us!' 

The  Christian  religion  comes  to  us  from  heaven, 
and  its  whole  purpose  and  aim  is  to  prepare  us  for 
heaven.  Our  own  tendency  is  to  live  in  and  for  the 
present.  We  are  engrossed  with  this  world.  We 
pursue  its  honors  and  enjoyments  as  the  chief  good. 
We  struggle  fruitlessly  against  its  calamities,  or  sul- 
lenly bow  to  them  as  the  greatest  of  evils.  Our  phi- 
losophy knows  no  better,  and  until  we  are  taught 
in  a  different  school  we  must  endure  the  pains  and 
penalties  of  these  sad  illusions.  The  Gospel  of 
Christ  supplies  the  needful  corrective  to  them.  It 
comes  to  call  away  men's  thoughts  from  the  seen  to 
the  unseen,  from  the  temporal  to  the  spiritual,  from 
the  present  to  the  future.     To  this  end  conspire  all 


1 2     Eaj'thly  Suffering  and  Heavenly  Glory. 

its  doctrines,  all  its  promises,  all  its  threatenings,  all 
its  ordinances.  Everything  pertaining  to  it  savors 
of  another  sphere  and  a  nobler  existence.  Even  a 
church-edifice,  as  we  pass  it  in  our  daily  walks,  is 
suggestive  of  the  invisible  and  the  eternal ;  much 
more  when  the  thronged  worshippers  meet  to  lay 
their  sacrifices  upon  its  altars. 

No  one  ever  understood  this  truth  better,  nor  felt 
it  more  deeply,  nor  enforced  it  more  eloquently,  than 
the  writer  of  the  Epistle  before  us.  When  he  de- 
fined faith  as  "  the  substance  of  things  hoped  for,  the 
evidence  of  things  not  seen,"  he  spoke  experiment- 
ally. For  such  was  his  own  faith.  It  pierced  the 
veil  which  hides  the  other  world  from  us,  and  saw  as 
well  what  is  there  as  what  is  here.  It  took  in,  not 
merely  this  brief,  precarious  span  that  we  call  life, 
but  the  soul's  whole  duration ;  not  merely  the  shad- 
ows of  the  present  scene,  which  we  misname  realities, 
but  the  realities  of  the  spirit- world,  which  we  mistake 
for  shadows.  And  it  interpreted  both  the  pleasures 
and  the  crosses  of  our  earthly  pilgrimage,  by  the 
light  thrown  back  upon  them  from  the  resplendent 
walls  and  towers  of  the  city  of  the  Great  King.  Of 
this  we  have  an  instance  in  the  text :  "  For  I  reckon 
that  the  sufferings  of  this  present  time  are  not  worthy 
to  be  compared  with  the  glory  which  shall  be  revealed 
in  us."  He  appeals  from  the  present  suffering  to  the 
future  glory,  and  declares  that  the  suffering  is  of  no 


Earthly  Suffering  and  Heavenly  Gloiy.     1 3 

moment  when  compared  with  the  glory  in  which  it 
is  to  terminate.  Let  us  consider  this  sentiment :  it 
may  minister  to  others  of  God's  dear  children  some- 
thing of  the  strength  and  consolation  which  the 
apostle  derived  from  it. 

"  The  sufferings  of  this  present  time."  Who  is  the 
man,  you  may  ask,  that  speaks  in  such  disparaging 
terms  of  these  sufferings  ?  Would  he  talk  thus  of 
them  if  he  knew  what  they  were  ?  He  does  know 
what  they  are.  If  you  imagine  that  you  can  teach 
him  anything  on  this  point,  listen  to  his  recital  drawn 
from  him  by  false  teachers  who  impugned  his  apos- 
tleship :  "  In  labors  more  abundant,  in  stripes  above 
measure,  in  prisons  more  frequent,  in  deaths  oft.  Of 
the  Jews  five  times  received  I  forty  stripes  save  one. 
Thrice  was  I  beaten  with  rods,  once  was  I  stoned, 
thrice  I  suffered  shipwreck,  a  night  and  a  day  I  have 
been  in  the  deep ;  in  journeyings  often,  in  perils  of 
waters,  in  perils  of  robbers,  in  perils  by  mine  own 
countrymen,  in  perils  by  the  heathen,  in  perils  in  the 
city,  in  perils  in  the  wilderness,  in  perils  in  the  sea, 
in  perils  among  false  brethren  ;  in  weariness  and  pain- 
fulness,  in  watchings  often;  in  hunger  and  thirst,  in 
fastings  often  ;  in  cold  and  nakedness.  Beside  those 
things  that  are  without,  that  which  cometh  upon  me 
daily,  the  care  of  all  the  churches."  (2  Cor.  xi.  23-28.) 
Here  is  the  answer  to  the  question,  Did  the  writer 
of  the  text  know  what  sufferine  is  ?     And   it  is  the 


1 4     Earthly  Suffering  and  Heavenly  Glory. 


man  that  endured  all  this  variety  and  accumulation 
of  trials  who  says  :  "  The  sufferings  of  this  present 
time  are  not  worthy  to  be  compared  with  the  glory 
that  shall  be  revealed  in  us."  Nor  is  it  correct  to 
say  that  to  speak  thus  is  to  disparage  the  sorrows  of 
earth.  The  Christian  is  no  more  insensible  to  trouble 
and  pain  than  other  men.  Jesus  of  Nazareth  was  no 
stoic.  He  neither  inculcated  indifference  to  suffering 
as  a  virtue,  nor  set  an  example  of  it.  So  far  from  it, 
He  was  in  full  sympathy  with  suffering  humanity  in 
whatever  form  it  appealed  to  Him.  He  felt  His  own 
sorrows  as  only  a  perfect  man  could  feel  them,  and 
He  felt  the  sorrows  of  others  as  if  they  were  His  own. 
Instead  of  discountenancing  sensibility  to  want,  and 
pain,  and  affliction,  the  whole  tendency,  both  of  His 
life  and  His  doctrine,  was  to  foster  it.  If  there  are 
regions  where  sorrow  evokes  no  pity,  and  misery 
no  relief,  they  lie  beyond  the  sphere  of  Christianity. 
An  unfeeling,  stone-like  Christian  were  an  offensive 
solecism,  a  reproach  to  the  Christian  name,  a  blot 
upon  the  fair  face  of  the  Church. 

We  may  go  further.  God  means  that  we  shall 
feel  afflictions.  There  is  a  significance  in  the  ex- 
pression, "  the  sufferings  of  this  present  time."  This 
present  time  is  designed  to  be  a  time  of  suffering. 
The  whole  dispensation  proceeds  upon  this  idea. 
God  might  have  taken  His  own  directly  to  heaven, 
so  that  they  at  least  would  have  escaped  suffering. 


Earthly  Suffering  and  Heavenly  Glory.     1 5 


But  He  adopted  a  different  plan.  He  leaves  them 
here,  after  they  are  renewed,  to  share  in  those  sor- 
rows under  which  (as  the  apostle  goes  on  to  say  in 
the  context)  "  the  whole  creation  groaneth  and  tra- 
vaileth  in  pain  together."  And  this  He  does,  not 
from  caprice,  not  in  mere  sovereignty,  still  less  "  for 
His  own  pleasure,"  but  "for  their  profit,  that  they 
may  be  partakers  of  His  holiness."  This  being  the 
end  He  has  in  view.  He  intends  that  they  shall  feel 
the  strokes  of  His  rod.  How,  otherwise,  should 
chastisement  answer  its  disciplinary  purpose? 

There  is  no  dictate,  then,  either  of  nature  or  of  re- 
ligion, which  requires  us  to  regard  the  "  sufferings  of 
this  present  time"  as  of  trivial  moment  in  themselves 
considered.  We  all  know  that  contemplated  in  this 
aspect,  they  are  not  trivial.  Look,  e.g.,  at  the  trials  of 
poverty.  Here  are  three-fourths  of  the  race  shut  up 
to  a  life  of  incessant  toil.  From  morning  to  night, 
work,  work,  work.  In  rain  and  in  sunshine,  in  the 
summer's  heat  and  the  winter's  cold,  in  health  and 
in  feebleness,  with  scant  clothing  perhaps  and  scantier 
fare,  with  a  wife  and  children  sick  or  well,  with  no 
respite  but  the  blessed  Sabbath,  from  the  opening  to 
the  end  of  the  year,  and  year  after  year  continually, 
work,  work,  work  !  Well  may  the  apostle  speak 
of  the  creation  as  "  groaning  and  travailing  in 
pain."  We  see  it,  and  hear  it,  and  feel  it,  all 
around    us — the  bitter   fruit  of  the   primeval   curse 


1 6     Earthly  Suffering  a7td  Heavenly  Glory. 


— in  the  struggles  and  trials  of  the  panting,  care- 
worn, tribes  of  labor. 

This,  however,  is  but  a  small  part  of  the  "  suffer- 
ings of  this  present  time."  Suffering  is  no  exclusive 
heritage  of  the  poor.  It  belongs  to  earth  ;  and  what- 
ever is  of  earth,  must  share  in  it.  When  sin  came 
into  the  world,  it  brought  death  with  it  (Rom.  v.  12); 
and  "  death,"  in  this  affirmation  of  the  apostle,  com- 
prehends all  the  types  of  suffering  and  sorrow  to 
which  humanity  is  subject.  To  enumerate  and  de- 
scribe these  were  impossible.  "  Man  is  born  unto 
trouble,  as  the  sparks  fly  upward."  We  cannot  tra- 
verse the  streets  without  meeting  it.  It  has  its 
symbols  in  the  very  institutions  which  Christian 
civilization  points  to  as  its  chief  jewels.  These  hos- 
pitals, these  asylums  for  the  deaf,  the  blind,  the  aged, 
the  insane,  these  widows'  and  orphans'  houses,  these 
multiform  benevolent  societies, — what  are  they  all 
but  ensigns  of  sorrow  and  suffering,  noble  and  gen- 
erous devices  of  our  heaven-born  faith  for  stanching 
the  bleeding  wounds  of  humanity? 

The  moment  you  descend  from  a  general  survey 
of  society  to  contemplate  its  constituent  parts,  you 
gain  a  still  more  vivid  impression  of  the  general 
prevalence  of  suffering.  On  every  side  you  encounter 
cases  of  peculiar  sadness,  in  the  way  of  pecuniary 
reverses,  sickness,  bereavement,  blighted  affections, 
filial    ingratitude,  domestic  alienation,   and    onward 


Earthly  Sjtffermg  a^id  Heavenly  Glojy.     1 7 

through  a  dismal  catalogue  of  woes  which  contribute 
each  its  several  rivulet  or  torrent  to  swell  the  vast 
flood  of  earthly  sorrow.  There  must  be  families  here 
within  the  sound  of  my  voice  who  could  tell  tales 
of  woe  that  would  move  a  heart  of  adamant.  Such 
families  form  a  part  of  every  great  community.  They 
are  witnesses  not  only,  but  examples,  of  the  "  suffer- 
ings of  this  present  time," — examples  to  prove  that 
these  sufferings  are  too  many  and  too  ponderous  to 
be  lightly  spoken  of 

And  there  are  sufferings  which  exceed  even  these 
in  severity:  those  which  afflict  the  conscience;  which 
bring  darkness  upon  the  soul,  and  fill  the  agitated 
bosom  with  remorse  and  anguish,  with  the  sense  of 
an  angry  God  and  the  terror  of  coming  judgment. 
These  belong  to  the  "  sufferings  of  this  present 
time;"  and  they  are  more  intolerable  than  severe 
outward  calamities. 

St.  Paul  had  known  too  much  of  these  trials,  both 
the  temporal  and  the  spiritual,  to  represent  them  as 
being  in  themselves  of  small  moment.  Yet  when  he 
looks  at  them  in  the  light  of  the  unseen  world,  he 
boldly  affirms,  they  "  are  not  worthy  to  be  compared 
with  the  glory  that  shall  be  revealed  in  us."  It  was 
this  conviction  which  nerved  him  to  bear  his  trials  with 
a  heroism  which  may  challenge  comparison  with  the 
proudest  exhibitions  of  martial  courage.  He  looked 
abroad  over  this  wide  scene  of  misery  and  pain  and 


1 8     Earthly  Suffering  and  Heavenly  Glory. 


tears,  and  measured  the  sorrows  of  earth,  his  own 
included,  by  the  glories  of  heaven.  And  he  was 
compelled  to  say,  "  there  is  no  proportion  between 
them;  the  sorrow  may  be  great,  but  it  is  nothing  to 
the  glory."  And  thus  every  one  must  feel  who  can 
attain  an  elevation  sufficiently  high  to  command  the 
entire  field ;  or  even  to  command  some  transient 
glimpses  of  the  realm  beyond  the  flood.  Here  is  our 
misfortune.  We  see  the  suffering ;  we  do  not  see 
the  glory.  Nay,  we  do  more  than  see  the  suffering : 
we  feel  it.  It  is  all  around  us  like  the  atmosphere. 
It  is  intermin^ed  with  our  every  allotment.  It  is  part 
of  ourselves.  Scarcely  a  day  passes  that  we  have  not 
to  do  with  want  and  sorrow,  with  mental  pain  or  out- 
ward woe,  our  own  or  others'.  And  ever  and  anon 
such  examples  of  signal,  crushing  affliction  appeal 
to  our  sympathies,  that  they  absorb  for  the  time  our 
very  being,  and  deprive  us  of  all  power  to  think 
whether  there  is  or  can  be  any  solace  for  them.  This 
is  natural.     But  unbelief  is  at  the  core  of  it :  for 

"  Earth  hath  no  sorrow 
That  heaven  cannot  heal." 

Even  these  trials  would  be  deemed  tolerable  if  we 
could  see  them  from  the  point  where  the  apostle 
stood  when  he  penned  the  text. 

But  what  does  he  mean  by  "  the  glory  tJiat  shall  be 
revealed  in  us,'' — that  glory  which  is  to  eclipse  and 
turn  to  nought  all  the  sufferintrs  of  earth?     It  is  not 


Earthly  Suffermg  and  Heavenly  Glory.     1 9 

given  us  to  answer  this  question,  except  in  a  very- 
imperfect  way.  This  glory  is  future ;  it  is  yet  to 
be  revealed.  We  cannot  therefore  describe  it  now. 
The  venerable  John,  in  affirming  this,  has  neverthe- 
less given  us  a  hint  of  it:  "  Beloved,  now  are  we  the 
sons  of  God,  and  it  doth  not  yet  appear  what  we 
shall  be ;  but  we  know  that  when  He  shall  appear, 
we  shall  be  like  Him,  for  we  shall  see  Him  as  He 
is."  This  may  aid  our  conceptions  somewhat.  And 
it  may  further  aid  us  to  consider  that  the  design  of 
the  present  economy  is  to  undo  the  effects  of  the 
apostasy,  and  restore  man  to  his  primeval  image. 
Could  we  frame  an  adequate  conception  of  the  first 
man,  as  he  came  from  his  Maker's  hands,  while  it 
would  not  at  all  exhaust  the  meaning  of  the  phrase, 
"the  glory  that  shall  be  revealed  in  us,"  it  would 
supply  some  ideas  not  unworthy  of  the  subject.  One 
of  our  eminent  New  England  theologians  refers  to 
Adam  in  these  eloquent  terms  : 

"  His  mind  could  trace  the  skill  and  glory  of  the 
Creator  in  the  works  of  His  hands  ;  and  from  the 
nature  of  the  work,  could  understand,  admire,  and 
adore  the  Workman.  His  thoughts  could  rise  to 
God  and  wander  through  eternity.  The  universe 
was  to  him  a  mirror,  by  which  he  saw  reflected  every 
moment,  in  every  place,  and  in  every  form,  the 
beauty,  greatness,  and  excellence  of  Jehovah.  To 
Him  his  affections  and  his  praises  rose,  more  sweet 


20     Earthly  Suffering  and  Heavenly  Glory. 

than  the  incense  of  the  morning,  and  made  no  un- 
happy harmony  with  the  loftier  music  of  heaven. 
He  was  the  Priest  of  this  great  world,  and  offered 
the  morning  and  evening  sacrifice  of  thanksgiving 
for  the  whole  earthly  creation.  Of  this  creation  he 
was  also  the  Lord,  not  the  Tyrant;  but  the  rightful, 
just,  benevolent  Sovereign.  The  subjection  of  the 
inferior  creatures  to  him  was  voluntary,  and  produc- 
tive of  nothing  but  order,  peace,  and  happiness.  With 
these  endowments  and  privileges  he  was  placed 
in  Paradise, — no  unhappy  resemblance  of  heaven 
itself, — and  surrounded  by  everything  which  was 
good  for  food,  or  pleasant  to  the  eye,  or  fragrant  to 
the  smell.  In  an  atmosphere  impregnated  with 
life ;  amid  streams  in  which  life  flowed ;  amid  fruits 
in  which  life  bloomed  and  ripened ;  encircled  by 
ever-living  beauty  and  magnificence;  peaceful  within, 
safe  without ;  and  conscious  of  immortality ;  he  was 
destined  to  labor  only  that  he  might  be  useful  and 
happy,  and  to  contemplate  the  wonders  of  the  uni- 
verse, and  worship  its  glorious  Author,  as  his  prime 
and  professional  employment.  He  was  an  image 
of  the  invisible  God,  created  to  be  like  Him  in 
knowledge,  righteousness,  holiness,  His  most  illus- 
trious attributes;  and  like  Him,  to  exercise  dominion 
over  the  works  of  his  hands."* 

*Rev.  Timothy  Dwight,  D.D. 


Earthly  Suffering  and  Heavenly  Glory.     2 1 

Cancelling  such  of  the  relations  and  powers  here 
ascribed  to  Adam  as  were  peculiar  to  him  in  virtue 
of  his  federal  headship  of  the  race,  we  may  accept 
this  beautiful  portraiture  as  bearing  a  near  resem- 
blance to  the  saints  in  glory.  Whereinsoever  the 
two  may  be  unequal,  the  advantage  lies  with  the 
ransomed.  In  our  first  parent  we  behold  a  perfect 
man.  The  same  perfection,  only  of  a  loftier  type, 
will  attach  to  every  one  of  the  redeemed.  I  say,  of 
a  loftier  type ;  for  this  will  be  true  even  of  their 
physical  organization.  Although  Adam  was  not 
mortal,  or  subject  to  death,  until  he  sinned,  yet  his 
body  was  adapted  to  the  world  he  was  to  inhabit. 
We  may  not  deny  the  materialism  of  the  "  new 
heavens  and  the  new  earth ;"  but  we  are  given  to 
understand  that  it  will  be  less  gross  in  its  forms 
than  the  matter  which  surrounds  us  here ;  and  this 
will  call  for  a  corresponding  adaptation  in  the  bodies 
of  the  redeemed.  Nor  is  this  mere  conjecture.  In 
a  passage  quoted  a  moment  ago,  we  are  taught  that 
at  the  resurrection  the  saints  will  be  like  Christ : 
"  we  shall  be  like  Himy  We  read  elsewhere  that 
they  will  be  raised  "  with  bodies  like  unto  Christ's 
glorious  body."  Once  only  before  His  ascension  did 
He  put  on  this  "  glorious  body."  In  that  wonder- 
ful scene,  "  His  face  did  shine  as  the  sun,  and  His 
raiment  was  white  as  the  light."  Moses  and  Elias, 
it    is    probable,    were    robed    in    similar    splendors. 


2  2     Earthly  Suffering  and  Heavenly  Glory. 

Brief  as  the  description  is,  it  seems  to  warrant  the 
presumption  that  the  bodies  of  the  righteous  will 
wear  something  of  the  glory  which  ravished  the  eyes 
of  the  three  favored  disciples  as  they  gazed  upon 
the  transfigured  person  of  their  Lord.  The  posses- 
sion of  a  body  like  this  may  well  be  taken  as  a  part 
of  "  the  glory  that  shall  be  revealed  in  us." 

But  "  the  King's  daughter  is  all  glorious  within" 
also.  And  if  this  be  true  of  the  Church  as  a  whole, 
it  must  be  true  of  each  of  its  members.  Renewed  in 
the  image  of  God,  they  will  be  freed  from  the  weak- 
nesses, the  impurity,  and  the  discord  which  sin  has 
entailed  upon  them.  All  their  powers  will  be  so 
balanced  and  adjusted,  that  none  will  be  in  excess, 
none  in  defect.  The  understanding  will  no  more 
mislead  the  affections ;  the  heart  will  no  more  tyran- 
nize over  the  reason ;  the  will  and  the  conscience 
will  blend  in  matchless  harmony.  There  will  be  no 
"  law  in  the  members  warring  against  the  law  of  the 
mind;"  no  "lusting  of  the  flesh  against  the  Spirit;" 
no  self-reproaches,  no  remorse,  no  confessions,  no 
repentings.  Very  much  of  the  conflict  and  trouble 
we  experience  here  arises  from  the  perversion  or  ill- 
working  of  affections  in  themselves  innocent.  These 
affections  beguile  us  into  attachments  which  at  least 
menace  the  fealty  we  owe  to  God.  They  fasten  upon 
some  earthly  object  with  a  strength  and  a  fervor 
which,    unless    checked,    might    rob    the    Lord    of 


Earthly  Suffering  and  Heavenly  Glory.     23 

Hosts  of  the  paramount  homage  which  is   His  due; 
and  it  is  not  easy  to  check  them. 

"  The  fondness  of  a  creature's  love, 
How  strong  it  strikes  the  sense  ! 
Thither  the  warm  affections  move, 
Nor  can  we  call  them  thence." 

Often  it  becomes  needful  to  employ  some  painful 
chastisement  as  a  means  of  dissolving  the  spell  of 
these  too  ardent  attachments ;  and  then  it  is  left  us 
to  gather  up  the  torn  and  scattered  tendrils  of  our 
affections,  and  lead  them  back  to  Him  from  whom 
they  should  never  have  been  severed. 

This  trial  will  not  be  repeated  in  heaven.  The 
ransomed  will  be  in  no  danger  of  refusing  to  their 
Lord  the  reigning  place  in  their  hearts.  Allied  to 
each  other,  they  will  be  with  a  love  which  is  but 
dimly  shadowed  forth  in  the  purest  ties  of  earth; 
but  this  love  will  recruit  itself  perpetually  from  the 
still  purer,  nobler,  more  absorbing  devotion  with 
which  every  soul  will  cherish  the  image  and  the 
honor  of  "  Him  that  sitteth  upon  the  throne." 

In  this  particular  not  only,  but  in  all  others,  there 
will  be  no  danger  of  erring,  since  there  will  be  no 
temptation  even  to  go  astray.  There  are  few 
thoughts  connected  with  the  future  glory  more  de- 
lightful than  this,  the  absence  of  all  temptation  to 
sin.  To  spend  age  after  age,  cycle  after  cycle,  yea, 
eternity  itself,  without  being  obliged  to  repel  a  single 


24     Earthly  Suffering  and  Heavenly  Glory. 

enticement  to  evil,  this  passes  our  comprehension. 
It  seems  a  reach  of  blessedness  almost  too  exalted 
even  for  a  people  redeemed  by  the  blood  of  the 
Lamb.  Yet  it  belongs  essentially  to  the  scriptural 
conception  of  the  "  glory  that  shall  be  revealed"  in 
the  saints ;  and  we  must  believe  it  true. 

It  will  meet  with  your  ready  response  if  knowl- 
edge be  mentioned  as  another  part  of  this  glory. 
Reverence  for  intellect  and  knowledge  is  of  the 
essence  of  our  being.  We  bow  before  intellectual 
greatness  with  an  unquestioning  and  willing  homage. 
This  universal  instinct  points  to  the  destiny  that 
awaits  man  hereafter,  and  the  Bible  confirms  the 
mute  prophecy.  The  disadvantages  which  wait  upon 
the  pursuit  of  knowledge  here  are  too  obvious  to  re- 
quire specific  mention.  Look  at  the  long  and  toil- 
some process  that  we  call  "  education  ;"  the  time  that 
must  be  spent  in  mastering  the  mere  rudiments  of 
learning ;  the  score  or  so  of  years  consumed  in 
simply  disciplining  the  faculties  sufficiently  to  em- 
ploy them  to  any  good  purpose  in  the  search  after 
truth.  And  then  what  hinderances  and  drawbacks 
from  every  quarter  to  the  prosecution  of  this  work  ! 
And  how  narrow  a  part  of  the  vast  field  which  invites 
attention  is  it  given  to  the  most  successful  scholars 
to  explore  before  death  steps  in  and  arrests  their 
labors!  Perhaps  there  is  no  occasion  upon  which 
we  feel  more  keenly  the  vanity  and  nothingness  of 


Earthly  Suffering  and  Heavenly  Gloiy.     2  5 

earth,  than  when  we  stand  by  the  bier  of  a  great 
scholar,  and  see  all  that  was  mortal  of  such  a  man 
committed  to  the  grave.  It  is  a  sad  memento  of  the 
vanity  of  man  as  mortal,  and  we  must  needs  lament 
that  he  could  not  transmit  to  some  survivor  the  in- 
tellectual treasures  he  has  spent  a  life  in  gathering. 
But  let  it  not  be  assumed  that  these  treasures  perish 
with  the  clay  tabernacle.  Pervaded  with  the  sanc- 
tifying principle  of  the  new  life,  it  is  reasonable 
to  presume  that  they  share  in  the  soul's  immor- 
tality, and  may  serve  as  a  foundation  for  that  loftier 
culture  which  is  to  be  carried  forward  in  the  life  to 
come. 

Whether  the  methods  of  acquiring  knowledge  in 
that  realm  will  bear  any  analogy  to  the  processes  we 
observe  here  is  not  apparent.  We  may  be  certain 
that  study  will  bring  neither  perplexity  nor  fatigue. 
And  it  seems  a  rational  presumption  that  intuition 
will  largely  supersede  the  slow  and  patient  investi- 
gations which  truth  now  exacts  of  her  votaries.  It 
will  be  something  to  be  endowed  with  faculties  of 
body  and  mind  which  are  insusceptible  of  decay  or 
weariness ;  never  to  feel  jaded  and  worn ;  never  to 
long  to  sit  down  and  rest,  or  to  find  yourself  invok- 
ing "  balmy  sleep"  to  come  and  refresh  you.  And 
no  less  auspicious  will  it  be  to  have  a  place  so  near 
the  great  Source  of  knowledge,  close  by  the  throne 
of  God.     There,  as  here,  the  believer  will  see  "  but 

3 


26     Earthly  Suffering  and  Heavenly  Glory. 

parts  of  His  ways ;"  for  how  shall  any  creature  com- 
pass the  Creator?  But  how  wide  the  survey,  as 
compared  with  the  broadest  sweep  of  vision  accorded 
to  the  most  favored  of  the  race  in  this  life!  If  we 
feel  our  amplest  toil  rewarded  by  the  discoveries  we 
make  in  the  three  great  volumes  of  truth  in  this  life, 
what  will  it  be  to  turn  over  the  august  leaves  under 
the  cloudless  light  of  the  heaven  of  heavens !  to 
study  the  mysteries  of  creation,  providence,  and  re- 
demption, in  the  beatific  presence  of  Him  from  whom 
they  all  proceed,  and  in  whom  they  find  their  con- 
summation !  These  studies,  too,  will' borrow  an  aug- 
mented interest  from  the  companionship  in  which 
they  are  conducted.  In  this,  as  in  many  other  as- 
pects, it  is  most  interesting  to  reflect  that  the  re- 
deemed will  have  the  presence  and  sympathy  of  the 
angels.  It  may  bring  this  home  to  our  experience, 
to  consider  how  much  we  should  any  of  us  prize  the 
opportunity  of  meeting  daily,  as  a  friend,  a  man  like 
Plato,  or  Newton,  or  Milton.  What,  then,  must  it 
be  to  be  introduced  into  the  society  of  those  exalted 
beings  who  stand  at  the  head  of  the  intelligent  crea- 
tion, and  who  have  been  observing  the  course  of 
events  throughout  the  universe  for  several  thousand 
years  ?  Who  shall  compute  the  progress  of  the  soul 
in  knowledge,  and  the  ever-growing  enlargement  of 
its  faculties,  when  placed  in  circumstances  like  these? 
Surely  we  cannot  err  in  specifying  this  as  one  of  the 


Earthly  Suffering  and  Heavenly  Glory.     I'j 


elements  of  that  "  glory"  which  our  apostle  affirms 
is  to  be  revealed  in  the  saints. 

The  form  of  expression  here  must  be  noted  : 
"  which  shall  be  revealed  in  us."  We  have  indicated 
knowledge  and  holiness  as  pertaining  strictly  to  this 
conception.  And  it  were  easy  to  specify  other  per- 
sonal characteristics  of  the  righteous ;  but  St.  Paul 
has  in  view  something  too  grand  and  imposing  to  be 
reached  in  this  way.  As  in  explanation  of  the  text 
he  adds  :  "  For  the  earnest  expectation  of  the  creature 
waiteth  for  the  manifestation  of  the  sons  of  God." 
And  he  goes  on  with  singular  sublimity  and  power 
to  describe  the  whole  creation  as  groaning  and  trav- 
ailing in  pain  together,  in  anxious  and  longing  ex- 
pectation of  the  great  epiphany  of  the  redeemed, 
when  they  shall  be  seen  as  they  are.  All  nature 
waits  for  this  "  manifestation  [Gr.,  apocalypse]  of  the 
sons  of  God."  Then  all  nature — all  worlds — are 
concerned  in  it.  The  "  sons  of  God"  he  styles  them. 
And  still  more  significantly  in  the  verse  preceding 
the  text,  "heirs  of  God,  and  joint-heirs  with  Christ." 
These  expressions  baffle  us.  We  cannot  take  them 
in.  But  this  we  know  :  they  savor  of  a  glory  which 
"  passeth  knowledge."  They  point  to  the  glory  of 
the  uncreated  One:  to  "the  glory  which  the  Son  had 
with  the  Father  before  the  world  was,"  augmented 
by  the  splendors  of  His  Mediatorial  throne.  In  this 
glory  the  ransomed  are  to  share;   for  they,  too,  are 


28     Earthly  Suffering  and  Heavenly  Glory. 

sons  of  God  and  joint-heirs  with  Christ.  This  glory 
is  to  be  put  upon  them.  And  here  is  what  is  meant 
by  the  "  manifestation  of  the  sons  of  God," — their 
being  arrayed  in  the  glory  of  their  Lord  and  Saviour, 
in  the  presence  of  the  universe.  It  is  not  merely  the 
inherent  glory  of  their  perfected  humanity ;  nor  the 
glory  of  their  final  triumph  over  death  and  hell ;  nor 
the  glory  of  the  bright  abode  and  the  blessed  fellow- 
ship into  which  they  will  have  been  introduced ;  but 
with  and  above  all  these  glories,  the  yet  more  efful- 
gent glory  reflected  upon  them  from  their  glorified 
Head  and  Prince,  Himself  "the  Brightness  of  the 
Father's  glory."  This  is  to  be  their  "  manifestation." 
And  that,  because  He  has  purposes  to  accomplish  by 
it  reaching  far  beyond  themselves.  Redemption  has 
cost  Him  an  infinite  sum;  and  while  He  will  account 
no  blessedness  too  great  for  a  people  ransomed  at 
such  a  price.  He  will  also  make  the  love  and  the 
mercy  and  the  wisdom  and  the  glory  He  lavishes 
upon  them,  subservient  to  His  own  glory  throughout 
the  universe.  We  have  a  hint  of  this  in  that  saying 
of  the  apostle,  "to  the  intent  that  now  unto  the  prin- 
cipalities and  powers  in  heavenly  places  might  be 
known  [made  known]  by  the  Church  the  manifold 
wisdom  of  God."  (Eph.  iii.  lo.)  Not  earth  and  hell 
only,  but  all  heaven,  shall  come  to  the  "  manifestation 
of  the  sons  of  God."  Cherubim  and  Seraphim  shall 
find  their  grandeur  paled  before  the  glory  in  which 


Earthly  Suffering  and  Heavenly  Glory,     29 

He  clothes  the  blood-washed  company.  From  dis- 
tant spheres  and  systems,  possibly,  the  tribes  of  holy, 
happy  denizens  shall  hasten  to  behold  the  strange, 
surpassing  glory  of  these  redeemed  sinners ;  and  to 
learn  from  them  lessons  excelling  all  that  they  had 
gathered  in  a  sinless  life  of  ages,  concerning  the  wis- 
dom, and  the  might,  the  love,  and  the  mercy,  of  the 
Deity.  Nor  is  this  to  pass  away  as  a  mere  coronation 
pageant.  The  honor  shown  them  in  their  resplendent 
"  manifestation"  will  be  perpetuated.  The  visions 
of  the  apocalypse  reveal  them  as  having  their  perma- 
nent abode  in  heaven,  in  the  immediate  presence  of 
their  exalted  and  reigning  Lord.  The  lustre  in  which 
they  shine  is  not  like  the  transitory  splendors  with 
which  the  western  horizon  is  often  aglow  as  the  sun 
goes  to  his  rest ;  nor  like  the  pomp  and  state  which 
wait  upon  an  earthly  prince  through  life,  and  then 
disappear  with  him  in  the  tomb.  It  is  the  glory 
emanating  from  personal  qualities  impressed  with 
the  hig-hest  conceivable  moral  excellence,  enhanced 
by  the  possession  of  a  happiness  absolutely  complete 
and  perfect,  and  transfused  and  heightened  by  the 
reflected  glory  of  their  King  which  covers  them  as 
with  a  robe  of  immortal  light  and  beauty. 

We  are  dealing  with  themes  beyond  our  reach. 
But  even  the  faint  conceptions  we  are  able  to  form  of 
that  world  may  suffice  to  illustrate  the  judgment  of 
the  apostle :    "  I  reckon  that  the  sufferings  of  this 

3* 


2,0     Earthly  Stiff ermg  and  Heavenly  Glory. 

present  time  are  not  worthy  to  be  compared  with 
the  glory  that  shall  be  revealed  in  us."  This  avowal 
becomes  still  more  significant  when  he  supplies,  as 
he  has  elsewhere  done,  the  link  which  smites  the  suf- 
fering and  the  glory.  It  is  not  as  though  they  were 
independent  of  each  other;  as  though  out  of  His 
mere  pleasure  God  had  assigned  to  His  people  an 
allotment  of  sorrow  here  and  an  allotment  of  joy 
there,  with  no  recognized  relation  between  the  two. 
"  For  our  light  affliction,  which  is  but  for  a  moment, 
worketh  for  ns  a  far  more  exceeding  and  eternal 
weight  of  glory."  (2  Cor.  iv,  17.)  The  affliction  is  in 
order  to  the  glory :  it  has  (as  sanctified)  a  positive 
and  most  important  agency  in  preparing  believers  for 
their  future  triumph.  This  is  everywhere  the  doc-  • 
trine  of  the  Bible.  It  is  too  large  a  subject  to  be 
discussed  here;  nor  can  this  be  necessary.  For  who 
does  not  know  that  "whom  the  Lord  loveth  He  chas- 
teneth ;"  and  that  the  troubles  of  life  are  the  crucible 
in  which  He  purges  His  people  of  their  dross  and 
refines  their  graces  ?  It  is  by  this  needful  discipline 
He  teaches  them  their  frailty  and  dependence,  hum- 
bles their  pride,  lays  open  the  corruption  of  their 
hearts,  exposes  to  them  the  vanity  of  the  world, 
warns  them  against  temptation,  makes  them  prize 
the  tenderness  and  constancy  of  their  Redeemer, 
inspires  them  with  a  ready  sympathy  in  the  trials  of 
others,  weans  them  from  earth  and  sense,  brings  them 


Earthly  Suffering  and  Heavenly  Glory.     3 1 

nearer  and  nearer  to  Himself,  and  thus  gradually 
prepares  them  for  their  rest.  It  is  in  this  view,  as 
hinted  in  the  opening  of  the  present  discourse,  and 
in  this  alone,  that  a  man  who  had  passed  through  the 
accumulated  sufferings  of  the  apostle,  could  speak  of 
the  whole  as  "  a  light  affliction"  lasting  only  "  for  a 
moment."  What  is  any  affliction  when  balanced 
against  "an  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory?" 

This  was  Paul's  judgment.  It  should  be  ours. 
Are  you  ready,  my  brethren,  to  accept  it  ? 

There  are  not  a  few  here  for  whom  this  question 
will  have  a  peculiar  significance.  It  is  because  suf- 
fering and  sorrow  are  all  around  us  that  I  have 
brought  the  subject  before  you.  Many  of  these 
afflictions  are  open  and  visible.  There  are  others 
which  prey  upon  the  heart  in  secret,  too  sad  to  invite 
the  partnership  and  sympathy  of  any  human  bosom. 
But  to  one  and  all  of  these  sufferers,  however  varied, 
however  severe,  however  protracted  your  sorrows, 
the  apostle  addresses  his  consolatory,  triumphant 
language,  "  I  reckon  that  the  sufferings  of  this  pres- 
ent time  are  not  worthy  to  be  compared  with  the 
glory  that  shall  be  revealed  in  us."  Let  the  thought 
come  home  to  you,  "  What  is  the  suffering  to  the 
glory?"  Let  it  dwell  upon  your  minds.  Recall  it 
in  your  seasons  of  despondency,  when  you  are 
pressed  with  the  corroding  cares  of  poverty;  when 
you  have  to  struggle  with  some  subtle  disease  which 


32     Earthly  Suffering  and  Heavenly  Glory. 


sets  upon  you  like  a  strong  man  armed ;  when  you 
are  stung  with  ingratitude ;  when  you  encounter  the 
indifference  and  rudeness  of  the  selfish  great;  when 
the  sense  of  your  bereavements  comes  over  you  with 
the  might  and  the  desolation  of  a  spring  torrent : — 
"What  is  the  suffering  to  the  glory?"  Turn  away 
from  earth  to  heaven.  Send  your  thoughts  onward 
and  upward  to  the  bright  "  manifestation  of  the  sons 
of  God,"  in  which  you  hope  to  have  a  share ;  to  that 
effulgent  glory  which  infolds  the  pious  dead,  and 
will,  in  due  time,  infold  you. 

What  think  they  now  of  the  sorrows  which  cheq- 
uered their  earthly  lot?  Are  they  counting  the 
weary  steps  of  their  pilgrimage  ?  Are  they  descant- 
ing upon  the  thorns  that  pierced  their  feet,  and  the 
rocks  over  which  they  stumbled,  and  the  storms  that 
beat  upon  their  heads,  and  the  hunger  and  thirst 
that  beset  them,  as  they  slowly  wended  their  way 
toward  the  holy  city  ?  Do  they  recall  the  priva- 
tions and  losses,  the  disappointments  and  tears,  of 
this  life  with  the  feeling  that  their  sufferings  here 
were  something  vast,  appalling,  overwhelming? 
Oh,  no.  Could  you  bring  down  the  very  martyrs 
who  were  hunted  like  wild  beasts,  and  tortured  with 
the  most  refined  and  protracted  cruelties,  they  would 
tell  you,  with  one  accord,  that  these  were  "  light 
afflictions,"  not  worthy  of  a  moment's  thought 
amidst  the  ineffable  glory  to  which  they  conducted 


Earthly  Suffering  and  Heavenly  Glory.     33 

them.  And  just  in  proportion  as  your  faith  and 
hope  can  lift  you  up  to  the  contemplation  of  this 
glory  as  a  sublime  reality,  will  you  feel  that  your 
sufferings  are  "not  worthy  to  be  compared"  with 
it.  "  For  a  season,  if  need  be,  ye  are  in  heaviness 
through  manifold  temptations."  But  consider  the 
end  your  Father  designs  by  it :  "that  the  trial  of 
your  faith  being  much  more  precious  than  of  gold 
that  perisheth,  though  it  be  tried  with  fire,  might  be 
found  unto  praise  and  honor  and  glory  at  the  appear- 
ing of  Jesus  Christ."  "Rejoice,"  then,  "inasmuch 
as  ye  are  partakers  of  Christ's  sufferings,  that  when 
His  glory  shall  be  revealed,  ye  may  be  glad  also 
with  exceeding  joy."  It  was  "  for  the  joy  set  before 
Him  He  endured  the  cross,  despising  the  shame;" 
and  if  His  people  "suffer,  they  shall  also  reign  with 
Him."  His  joy  is  their  joy  ;  His  glory,  their  glory. 
And  all  the  more  will  this  meet  your  case,  because 
it  will  fully  satisfy  that  inward  craving  after  your 
Saviour's  love  which  you  felt  so  keenly,  and  with 
such  painful  misgivings,  in  the  days  of  your  exile. 

I  have  spoken  of  knowledge  and  holiness  as  essen- 
tial elements  of  the  glory  to  be  revealed  in  the  saints, 
and  of  that  Divine  glory  in  which  they  are  to  be 
arrayed,  reserving  for  this  place  a  closing  reference 
to  one  other  ingredient  in  that  cup  of  bliss.  Were 
it  unchastened  language  to  say  that  even  this  tri- 
fold  glory  would  not  have   been   complete  without 


34     Earthly  Suffering  and  Heavenly  Glory. 

the  presence  of  still  another  element?     I  hope  not. 

For  it  is  the  nature  God  has  given  us  : — ive  cannot 
live  ivithojit  love.  There  is  no  human  heart  that  does 
not  yearn  after  love.  If  it  were  a  possible  thing  that 
heaven  should  be  heaven  without  love,  what  would 
all  its  glories  be  to  creatures  formed  as  we  are  ? 
Pure  intellect  might  live  upon  simple,  abstract  truth; 
but  the  heart,  never.  We  love  before  we  know. 
The  affections  are  through  life  the  chief  sources  and 
inlets  of  pleasure  (as  of  pain  also) ;  and  we  are  not 
left  in  doubt  as  to  the  point,  that  we  carry  this  same 
nature  with  us  into  eternity,  as  our  Master  did  be- 
fore us.  Blessed  be  God,  He  has  made  ample  pro- 
vision for  this  law  of  our  being  in  the  future  world. 
The  glory  to  be  revealed  in  His  people  is  like  the 
sun :  it  warms  as  well  as  shines.  Redemption  itself 
began  in  love,  the  infinite  love  of  the  Father.  It 
achieved  its  crowning  triumph  in  the  boundless  love 
of  the  Son.  It  is  carried  forward  in  our  world  by 
the  unwearied  love  of  the  Spirit.  The  first  emotion 
it  enkindles  in  the  renewed  heart  is  love  to  its  Deliv- 
erer. This  love  it  enthrones  as  the  dominant  power 
of  the  soul.  It  burns  with  an  inconstant  but  un- 
quenched  flame  through  life,  and  burns  on  with  a 
purer  fervor  after  death,  there,  as  here,  pointing  ever 
to  Him  by  whose  love  it  was  enkindled.  Yes,  and 
there  far  more  than  here,  assured  of  His  love  not 
only,  but  loving  and  being  loved  by  all  with  whom 


Earthly  Suffering  and  Heavenly  Glory.     35 

it  shared  the  hopes  and  fears  of  the  Christian  conflict 
on  earth.  We  may  not  say  that  the  "  family"  will 
re-appear  in  heaven,  and  our  earthly  friendships  be 
renewed  precisely  as  they  exist  here.  But  are  these 
ties  to  be  ruptured  forever?  Are  these  sacred  at- 
tachments to  be  finally  dissolved  ?  Are  the  moulds 
in  which  the  whole  form  and  structure  of  our  being 
has  been  cast  to  be  so  shivered  by  the  stroke  of  the 
destroyer,  that  the  fragments  can  never  be  gathered 
up  and  re-fashioned  in  some  loftier  type  hereafter  ? 
No,  my  brethren,  it  cannot  be.  The  voice  of  nature 
— of  the  new  nature — on  this  point  is  confirmed  by 
numerous  intimations  of  the  inspired  writers ;  and 
we  feel  warranted  in  saying  that  the  coming  glory 
will  bring  you  not  only  the  perfect  love  of  your  Re- 
deemer, but  the  tender,  quenchless  love  of  those 
who  are  one  in  Christ  with  you  here.  And  beyond 
this  hallowed  circle — wherever  there  are  ransomed 
sinners  or  rapt  seraphs — you  will  love  and  be  loved 
with  a  fervor  and  a  constancy  known  only  to  those 
who  have  received  their  crowns. 

Let  this  reflection  assuage  your  grief  as  you 
dwell  upon  your  sainted  dead.  Let  it  inflame  your 
gratitude  to  Him  who  has  admitted  them,  and  will 
admit  you  to  His  love.  And  let  it  impress  the  con- 
viction deeply  upon  your  hearts,  that  "  the  sufferings 
of  this  present  time  are  not  worthy  to  be  compared 
with  the  glory  that  shall  be  revealed  in  us." 


WHAT   THINK   YE   OF   CHRIST? 


Matthew   xxii.  42. 


"  What  think  yc  of  Christ  T 

Our  Saviour  had  shown  His  skill  in  answering 
questions ;  now  He  displays  His  sagacity  in  asking 
one.  First  the  Pharisees  and  Herodians  had  tried 
to  ensnare  Him  by  the  insidious  question  :  "  Master, 
is  it  lawful  to  give  tribute  to  Caesar,  or  not?"  Then 
the  Sadducees,  by  inquiring  concerning  the  woman 
with  the  seven  husbands:  "Whose  wife  shall  she  be 
in  the  resurrection  ?"  And  then  a  "  lawyer,"  put  for- 
ward by  the  Pharisees  again,  by  asking:  "Which  is 
the  great  commandment  in  the  law  ?"  All  were  con- 
founded and  silenced  by  His  replies,  and  then  He  in 
turn  puts  a  test  question  to  His  inquisitors  :  "  What 
think  ye  of  Christ?  whose  Son  is  He?"  They  an- 
swered correctly,  "The  Son  of  David;"  not  antici- 
pating the  question  which  this  answer  would  invite : 
"  How  then  doth  David  in  spirit  call  Him  Lord,  say- 
ing, The  Lord  said  unto  my  Lord,  Sit  thou  on  my 
36 


What  think  ye  of  Christ  ? 


right  hand,  till  I  make  thine  enemies  thy  footstool. 
If  David  then  call  Him  Lord,  how  is  He  his  Son?" 
They  saw,  perhaps,  where  this  was  likely  to  carry 
them,  and  made  no  reply.  It  cured  them  of  asking 
Him  questions. 

Every  one  sees  how  pregnant  a  question  this  was 
with  the  Jews:  "What  think  ye  of  Christ?"  It  is 
no  less  significant  with  us.  There  is  far  more  in- 
volved in  it  than  meets  the  eye.  If  we  were  properly 
alive  to  its  importance,  it  would  be  as  much  can- 
vassed and  talked  about  in  all  circles  as  the  alleged 
Messiahship  of  Jesus  was  during  His  public  ministry 
throughout  the  towns  and  villages  of  Judea.  It  is 
of  as  much  moment  to  us  to  have  right  thoughts  of 
Christ  as  it  was  to  the  Hebrews  to  know  whether  or 
not  He  was  their  predicted  deliverer,  whose  kingdom 
should  break  in  pieces  and  consume  all  other  king- 
doms, and  stand  forever.  Nor  is  this  a  matter  which 
affects  a  few  individuals  only,  or  which  pertains 
merely  to  Churches  and  Christian  professors.  It 
concerns  us  all.  The  individual  cannot  be  found 
who  has  not  a  deeper  stake  in  the  question,  "  What 
thinkest  thou  of  Christ  ?"  than  he  has  in  any  and  all 
questions  pertaining  to  his  business,  his  family,  his 
country,  and  all  other  earthly  interests  combined. 
On  this  topic  I  propose  to  enlarge.  It  is  my  purpose 
to  illustrate  the  pre-eminent  importance  of  the  ques- 
tion, "  What  think  ye  of  Christ  f  by  way  of  inciting 

4 


38  What  think  ye  of  Christ  ? 


those  who  may  Hsten  to  this  discourse  to  compare 
their  views  of  Christ  with  the  teachings  of  Holy- 
Scripture,  and  to  examine  into  the  practical  influence 
these  views  exert  upon  their  hearts  and  lives. 

I.  Yo7ir  entire  theological  creed  must,  logical!)',  be 
determined  by  the  answer  you  give  to  this  question. 

It  is  no  isolated  or  subordinate  topic  to  which  the 
inquiry  points,  but  one  that  touches  the  very  founda- 
tions of  religion.  Our  religion  takes  its  designation 
from  Christ.  We  ourselves  bear  His  name.  And  it 
is  His  name  which  divides  off  the  nations  that  have 
received  the  Bible  from  those  which  have  not  received 
it.  Whatever  importance,  therefore,  may  attach  to 
an  inquiry  into  the  nature  of  Christianity  must  attach 
to  the  question,  "What  think  ye  of  Christ?"  So 
far  from  being  a  mere  incident  in  a  theological  sys- 
tem, the  position  assigned  to  Christ  will  be  decisive 
of  the  whole  scheme.  So  implicated  is  this  doctrine 
with  the  other  essential  truths  of  revelation,  that  they 
uniformly  and  necessarily  derive  their  coloring  from 
the  views  which  are  entertained  respecting  the  Medi- 
ator. This  will  not  appear  surprising  when  it  is  con- 
sidered that  it  is  a  controverted  question  concerning 
Christ  whether  He  is  God  or  man ;  the  Creator  and 
Lord  of  all,  or  a  mere  creature.  It  is  unavoidable 
that  a  scheme  of  faith  shall  receive  a  positive  and 
controlling  impress,  according  as  one  or  the  other  of 
two  elements  so  infinitely  dissimilar  is  infused  into  it. 


What  think  ye  of  Christ  f  39 

A  system  which  recognizes  the  self-existent  and  un- 
searchable Deity  as  pervading  every  part  of  it,  dis- 
charging its  chief  functions,  and  administering  all  its 
affairs,  cannot  blend  with  a  system  in  which  these 
offices  are  devolved  upon  a  creature.  Nor  is  it 
material  what  may  be  the  rank  and  endowments  of 
that  creature.  The  difficulty  is  not  obviated  by  mak- 
ing Christ  an  angelic  or  super-angelic  being ;  unless 
you  could  simultaneously  abridge  the  attributes  of 
the  Infinite  One  and  bring  the  amplitude  of  His  na- 
ture within  the  compass  of  our  conceptions.  While 
God  remains  God,  you  do  absolutely  nothing  towards 
lessening  the  disparity  between  Him  and  His  "  only- 
begotten  Son,"  by  exalting  the  latter  to  a  precedence, 
indefinite  if  you  will  (so  it  does  not  overpass  the 
limits  of  created  nature),  above  the  Seraphim.  The 
approximation  you  effect  of  the  creature  to  the  Crea- 
tor, by  this  arrangement,  is  less  than  the  measure  of 
assimilation  to  the  intelligence  and  wisdom  of  an 
angel,  involved  in  a  single  day's  progress  of  a  new- 
born infant.  For  here  there  is  some  conceivable  pro- 
portion between  the  terms  of  the  comparison;  which 
there  cannot  be  where  one  term  is  finite  and  the 
other  infinite. 

The  resolution  of  this  question  concerning  the 
proper  raftk  and  authority  of  Christ,  I  have  said, 
must  tell  upon  every  leading  point  of  theology ;  pre- 
cisely (for  the  illustration  is  not  too  strong)  as  the 


40  What  think  ye  of  Christ  f 

position  assigned  to  the  sun  must  rule  any  planetary- 
theory.  Its  connection  with  the  conceptions  we  form 
of  the  nature  of  the  Godhead  is  too  palpable  to  re- 
quire comment.  According  as  we  hold  to  one  or 
another  belief  respecting  the  person  of  Christ,  do 
we  admit  or  deny  a  Trinity  in  unity  in  the  Supreme 
Being.  And  a  thorough  analysis  of  the  conflicting 
views  on  this  point  will  lead  us  out,  by  a  logical 
necessity,  into  one  or  the  other  of  two  incompatible 
systems  covering  the  whole  ground  of  man's  moral 
character  and  condition,  the  design  and  efficacy  of 
the  crucifixion,  the  offices  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the 
mode  of  reconciliation  to  God,  the  nature  of  true 
worship,  and,  in  fine,  the  entire  Gospel  efconomy, 

2.  It  is  only  giving  this  general  observation  a 
specific  direction  to  remark,  that  your  answer  to  the 
question,  "What  think  ye  of  Christ?"  must  deter- 
mine yoitr  vicius  of  the  ivay  of  salvation.  Wherever 
the  Gospel  is  known,  the  profound  and  solemn  in- 
quiry, "What  must  I  do  to  be  saved?"  affiliates  itself 
in  every  breast  with  another  inquiry:  "  What  was  the 
nature  and  design  of  Christ's  mission  to  our  world?" 
And  on  this  point  there  is  an  endless  diversity  of 
sentiment.  There  are  those,  as  already  hinted,  who 
see  in  Jesus  of  Nazareth  simply  a  man  of  pre-emi- 
nent purity  and  benevolence,  an  incarnation  of  all 
the  virtues,  who,  having  instructed  the  world  by  His 
wisdom  and  improved  it  by  His  piety,  consummated 


What  think  ye  of  Christ  f  41 

a  life  radiant  with  goodness  by  a  death  of  corre- 
spondent meekness  and  resignation;  and  thus  taught 
us  in  the  most  touching  of  all  methods  the  two  most 
important  and  difficult  of  all  lessons,  how  to  live  and 
how  to  die.  Others  go  quite  beyond  this,  in  that  they 
yield  a  speculative  assent  to  the  orthodox  formulas 
of  faith,  and  recognize  the  fact  of  an  atonement. 
But  why,  precisely,  an  atonement  was  necessary,  or 
what  the  atonement  was,  are  points  concerning  which 
they  have  no  definite  ideas.  Indeed,  they  do  not 
much  concern  themselves  about  the  subject.  Scrip- 
tural views  of  the  atonement  are  inseparable  from 
certain  impressions  respecting  human  nature,  which 
this  class  of  persons  find  somewhat  irksome.  By 
depreciating  the  evil  to  be  removed  by  the  death  of 
Christ,  they  of  course  lower  the  significance  of  His 
sacrifice,  and  open  the  way  for  perverting  it  to  very 
mischievous  purposes.  "Jesus  Christ  is  regarded 
rather  as  having  added  to  our  moral  advantages,  than 
as  having  conferred  that  without  which  all  the  rest 
were  in  vain ;  rather  as  having  made  the  passage  to 
a  happy  futurity  somewhat  more  commodious,  than 
as  having  formed  the  passage  itself  over  what  had 
else  been  an  impassable  gulf."  If  He  is  in  terms 
acknowledged  as  a  Saviour,  it  is  really  in  the  illusive 
and  irreverent  sense  of  His  having  put  us  in  a  situ- 
ation where  we  may  save  ourselves;  or  of  supple- 
menting our  imperfect  righteousness  by  the  merit  of 

4* 


42  What  think  ye  of  Christ  f 

His  own  obedience.  Christ  is  not  to  them  "  wisdom 
and  righteousness  and  sanctification  and  redemption." 
They  are  very  little  in  sympathy  with  the  spirit  of  a 
passage  Hke  this :  "  I  count  all  things  but  loss  that  I 
may  win  Christ  and  be  found  in  Him,  not  having 
mine  own  righteousness  which  is  of  the  law,  but  that 
which  is  through  the  faith  of  Christ,  the  righteous- 
ness which  is  of  God  by  faith."  Christ  occupies  no 
such  place  as  this  in  their  scheme.  They  are,  in  fact, 
essaying  to  get  to  heaven  by  the  abrogated  covenant 
of  works ;  by  a  refined  legalism  which,  though  pre- 
tending to  honor  Christ,  impugns  all  His  offices. 

This  is  a  very  common  and  very  dangerous  error. 
It  has  been  in  the  Church  from  the  days  of  the  apos- 
tles until  now.  It  marred  their  work,  as  it  continues 
to  mar  the  work  of  those  who  preach  the  same  glori- 
ous Gospel.  "  O  foolish  Galatians,  .  .  .  this  only 
would  I  learn  of  you,  Received  ye  the  Spirit  by  the 
works  of  the  law,  or  by  the  hearing  of  faith  ?  Are 
ye  so  foolish  ?  having  begun  in  the  Spirit,  are  ye  now 
made  perfect  by  the  flesh  ?"  "  If  righteousness  come 
by  the  law,  then  Christ  is  dead  in  vain."  If  salvation 
be  "  by  grace,  then  is  it  no  more  of  works:  otherwise 
grace  is  no  more  grace.  But  if  it  be  of  works,  then 
is  it  no  more  grace :  otherwise  work  is  no  more 
work."  These  two  schemes  can  no  more  coalesce 
than  fire  and  water.  We  must  be  saved  wholly  by 
Christ's  merits  or  wholly  by  our  own.     He  will  have 


What  think  ye  of  Christ  ?  43 

the  entire  glory  of  our  salvation,  or  He  will  have 
none.  He  came  into  the  world  "  to  save  sinners ;" 
not  to  make  it  practicable  for  them  to  save  them- 
selves ;  not  to  impress  a  saving  efficacy  upon  their 
services  or  upon  their  prayers;  not  to  transfer  His 
own  merit  to  His  church  and  make  that  a  Saviour  in 
His  stead;  not  to  act  any  subordinate  part  in  the 
deliverance  of  the  race  from  sin,  but  to  "  save"  them. 
And  those  who  decline  receiving  Him  as  a  Saviour, 
in  the  plenary  import  of  this  term,  must  not  hope  to 
make  His  intervention  subservient  to  their  salvation 
through  some  scheme  which  will  exempt  them  from 
the  humiliation  of  confessing  that  they  are  in  them- 
selves miserable  sinners,  too  polluted  even  to  think 
a  good  thought  and  too  impotent  to  perform  a  single 
righteous  act. 

There  is  still  another  error,  tending  to  the  same 
pernicious  result,  in  respect  to  the  design  of  Christ's 
incarnation.  Those  who  have  embraced  it,  if  asked, 
"What  think  ye  of  Christ?"  would  reply:  "We 
think  that  He  came  into  the  world  to  save  sinners, 
but  not  by  enduring  the  penalty  of  the  law  in  their 
stead.  The  object  of  punishment  under  the  Divine 
government  is  to  prevent  crime  and  promote  the 
good  of  the  universe.  The  ground  of  Christ's  suf- 
ferings lies  neither  in  the  inherent  ill-desert  of  sin, 
nor  in  the  inflexibility  of  the  moral  law,  nor  yet  in 
the  essential  repugnance  of  the  Divine  holiness  to  all 


44  What  think  ye  of  Christ  ? 

sin.  There  is  nothing  in  the  character  or  the  law  of 
God  to  forbid  the  suspension  of  the  penalty  and  the 
pardon  of  the  sinner,  provided  only  that  some  expe- 
dient can  be  devised  to  exhibit  to  the  universe  His 
abhorrence  of  sin,  and  to  deter  others  from  rebellion. 
This  was  what  Christ  came  to  accomplish.  He  did 
not  stand  in  the  '  law-place'  of  His  people.  His 
sufferings  were  not  in  any  sense  legal :  they  consti- 
tuted no  part  of  that  curse  which  was  threatened 
against  the  transgressor.  The  whole  legal  system 
has  been  suspended,  at  least  for  the  present,  in  order 
to  make  way  for  the  operation  of  one  of  a  different 
character.  In  introducing  this  system  of  mercy, 
which  involves  a  suspension  of  the  penal  curse,  God 
has  required  a  satisfaction  to  the  principles  of  general 
or  public  justice;  a  satisfaction  which  will  effectually 
secure  all  the  good  to  the  universe  which  is  intended 
to  be  accomplished  by  the  penalty  of  the  law  when 
inflicted,  and  at  the  same  time  prevent  all  that  prac- 
tical mischief  which  would  result  from  arresting  the 
hand  of  primitive  justice  without  the  intervention  of 
an  atonement.  In  this  way  it  has  become  practi- 
cable for  the  sinner  to  be  saved  without  jeoparding 
the  great  moral  interests  of  the  universe.  We  do 
not  say  that  his  salvation  is  secured  by  this  arrange- 
ment. All  that  the  atonement  has  effected  for  the 
sinner  is  to  place  him  within  the  reach  of  pardon. 
The  door  is  open.     Mercy  can  now  operate." 


What  think  ye  of  Christ  f  45 

This  ingenious  speculation  cannot  stand.  Un- 
doubtedly one  end  of  the  death  of  Christ  was  to 
exhibit  God's  abhorrence  of  sin,  and  to  deter  others 
from  sinning.  But  these  ends  can  be  accomplished 
only  in  subserviency  to  that  which  the  Scriptures 
make  the  great  design  of  this  transaction,  viz.,  to 
satisfy  the  claims  of  Divine  justice  against  sinners 
by  a  strictly  vicarious  and  adequate  atonement.  If 
the  Bible  teaches  any  doctrine,  it  is  that  Christ  Jesus 
died  as  an  expiatory  sacrifice  for  the  sins  of  His 
people;  that  He  stood  in  their  place,  bore  their  sins, 
endured  the  curse  for  them,  and  thus  secured  their 
salvation.  He  was  "  made  the  Surety  of  a  better 
testament."  He  "bore  our  sins  in  His  own  body  on 
the  tree."  He  was  "  made  sin  for  us."  "  In  whom 
we  have  redemption  through  His  blood."  "  Thou 
hast  redeemed  us  to  God  by  Thy  blood."  "  Who 
gave  Himself  a  ransom  for  all."  "  Christ  hath  re- 
deemed us  from  the  curse  of  the  law,  being  made 
a  curse  for  us."  "  The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ,  His 
Son,  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin."  This  is  the  current 
phraseology  of  the  Scriptures.  It  is  the  burden  of 
prophecy.  It  pervades  and  vitalizes  the  whole  Le- 
vitical  ritual.  It  is  the  constant  teaching  of  the  Re- 
deemer Himself  It  is  the  harmonious,  joyful  testi- 
mony of  the  apostles.  It  is  the  sublime  song  of  the 
redeemed  in  heaven.  All,  all  concur  in  declaring, 
not  that  Christ  died  for  the  good  of  the  universe  in 


46  What  think  ye  of  Christ  ? 


general,  but  to  redeem  His  people  from  the  curse  of 
the  law,  and  make  them  kings  and  priests  unto  God 
and  His  Father.  That  the  good  of  the  universe  will 
be  promoted  by  His  intervention  in  various  ways, 
in  many,  doubtless,  of  which  we  can  form  no  con- 
ception, will  be  readily  admitted.  That  it  must,  in 
particular,  impress  all  intelligent  creatures  with  God's 
holiness  and  justice,  and  His  determination  to  punish 
sin,  is  no  less  evident  on  the  true  view  of  Christ's 
sufferings.  But  how  is  this  result  to  follow,  if  His 
sufferings  were  not  legal ;  if  the  iniquities  of  His 
people  were  not  visited  upon  Him;  if  His  death  was 
simply  an  imposing  pageant,  "  a  satisfaction  to  the 
principles  of  general  or  public  justice,"  in  which  the 
victim  was  no  representative  or  substitute  of  trans- 
gressors, and  His  sufferings  had  no  specific  reference 
to  individuals  ?  If  He  voluntarily  assumed  the  legal 
responsibilities  of  sinners,  and,  with  a  perfect  right 
to  dispose  of  His  own  life,  offered  Himself  as  their 
Surety,  it  is  easy  to  see  how  His  death  might  illus- 
trate the  Divine  justice  and  the  evil  of  sin.  But 
where  is  the  justice  of  consigning  Him  to  the  cross, 
if,  being  spotless  and  innocent  Himself,  He  had  no 
legal  liabilities  for  the  offences  of  others  ?  How 
could  His  death  exhibit  God's  abhorrence  of  sin,  and 
repress  disobedience  in  others,  when  He  did  not,  in 
any  intelligible  sense  of  the  terms,  bear  the  penalty 
of  sin  ?     And  if  the  principles   upon  which  the  Di- 


What  think  ye  of  Christ  ?  47 

vine  government  had  been  administered  were  to  be 
"  suspended,"  and  an  amnesty  published  to  our  race, 
why  could  not  this  be  done  without  subjecting  the 
Son  of  God  to  the  humiliation  and  agony  of  the 
cross  ?  How  could  this  transaction  guard  the  Divine 
clemency  from  abuse,  or  make  it  safe  to  exercise  it  ? 
With  the  views  of  the  atonement  which  you,  Chris- 
tian brethren,  find  on  every  page  of  the  Bible,  these 
questions  are  easily  answered ;  but  they  admit  of  no 
rational  solution  on  the  scheme  I  am  examining. 

Nor  is  it  a  trivial  objection  to  this  scheme,  that  it 
leaves  the  salvation  of  men  in  a  most  precarious  and 
uncertain  state.  All  that  it  does  is  "  to  place  the 
sinner  within  the  reach  of  pardon  !"  You  have  not 
so  learned  Christ.  It  is  your  comfort  to  know  that 
His  people  will  certainly  be  saved;  that  in  the  same 
covenant  which  stipulated  for  His  substitution  their 
coming  to  Christ  was  guaranteed  ;  that  as  He  was 
"  made  sin"  for  them,  so  they  shall  be  "  made  the 
righteousness  of  God  in  Him;"  that,  "having  made 
His  soul  an  offering  for  sin,"  He  shall,  without  fail, 
"  see  of  the  travail  of  His  soul  and  be  satisfied." 
But  I  have  no  disposition  to  enlarge  upon  this  topic. 
It  has  simply  been  adduced  as  one  of  the  popular 
errors  of  the  day,  which  go  to  disparage  the  sacer- 
dotal work  of  the  Redeemer,  and  to  beguile  the 
unstable  into  perilous  paths.  It  is  apposite  to  my 
present  purpose,  as  exhibiting  another  of  the  ways- 


48  What  think  ye  of  Christ  f 

in  which  even  serious-minded  persons  may  entertain 
unworthy  thoughts  of  Christ,  and  as  showing  that 
the  views  we  take  of  His  mission  must  be  decisive 
in  moulding  our  conceptions  of  the  method  of  sal- 
vation. 

3.  Restricted  as  I  am  by  the  magnitude  of  this 
subject  to  mere  hints,  I  observe,  in  the  third  place, 
that  the  importance  of  the  question,  "  What  think  ye 
of  Christ?"  may  be  seen  in  the  fact  \}a-dX.  your  anszver 
to  it  zvill  decide  your  whole  character  and  experience. 

There  are  two  very  different  types  of  virtue  or 
"goodness"  current  in  every  Christian  community. 
One  is  the  good  man  of  the  world,  the  other  is  the 
good  man  of  the  Bible.  Both  have  some  amiable 
qualities  in  common,  but  an  analysis  of  the  two  re- 
spectively would  show  that  they  are  made  up  of  very 
dissimilar  materials.  Not  to  go  into  this  analysis 
beyond  the  exigencies  of  the  present  argument,  there 
is  no  point  in  respect  to  which  these  two  typical  men 
will  be  found  to  differ  more  widely  than  in  their  feel- 
ings towards  the  Son  of  God.  The  good  man  of  the 
world,  whom  we  meet  with  so  constantly  in  our  po- 
lite literature,  "  never  talks  with  affectionate  devotion 
of  Christ  as  the  Great  High  Priest  of  his  profession, 
as  the  exalted  Friend,  whose  injunctions  are  the  laws 
of  his  virtues,  whose  work  and  sacrifice  are  the  basis 
of  his  hopes,  whose  doctrines  guide  and  awe  his 
reasonings,  and  whose  example  is  the  pattern  which 


What  think  ye  of  Christ  ?  49 

he  is  earnestly  aspiring  to  resemble.  The  last  intel- 
lectual and  moral  designations  in  the  world  by  which 
it  would  occur  to  you  to  describe  him,  would  be  those 
by  which  the. apostles  so  much  exulted  to  be  recog- 
nized— a  disciple,  and  a  servant,  of  Jesus  Christ;  nor 
would  he  (I  am  supposing  this  character  to  become 
a  real  person)  be  at  all  gratified  by  being  so  described. 
You  do  not  hear  him  avowing  that  he  deems  the 
habitual  remembrance  of  Christ  essential  to  the  na- 
ture of  that  excellence  which  he  is  cultivating.  He 
rather  seems,  with  the  utmost  coolness  of  choice, 
adopting  virtue  as  according  with  the  dignity  of  a 
rational  agent,  than  to  be  in  the  least  degree  impelled 
to  it  by  any  relations  with  the  Saviour  of  the  world."* 
On  the  other  hand,  nothing  is  more  observable  in 
the  character  of  an  enlightened  and  earnest  Christian 
than  the  prominence  which  Christ  has  in  his  whole 
interior  life.  So  far  from  shunning  the  mention  of 
His  name  or  referring  in  an  occasional  and  formal 
manner  merely  to  the  assistance  he  has  received 
from  the  contemplation  of  so  rare  an  "  example"  of 
virtue,  he  is  bold  to  confess  that  he  derives  from 
Christ  his  very  spiritual  life.  The  life  which  he  lives, 
he  lives  by  the  faith  of  the  Son  of  God;  nay,  it  is  not 
he  that  lives,  but  Christ  lives  in  him.  The  sentiment 
which  sways  his  entire  being  is  the  constraining  love 

*  Foster :  Essay  iv. 
5 


50  What  think  ye  of  Christ  f 

of  Christ.  The  end  for  which  he  lives  is  not  himself, 
not  his  own  ease,  honor,  or  aggrandizement,  but 
Christ :  it  is  Christ  for  him  to  live.  To  be  taught  of 
Christ;  to  bear  the  yoke  of  Christ;  to  bring  others 
to  Christ;  to  extend  the  empire  of  Christ;  if  need  be, 
to  suffer  for  Christ, — this  -constitutes  his  life.  To 
the  blood  of  Christ  he  looks  for  pardon.  On  the 
righteousness  of  Christ  he  rests  his  hope  of  heaven. 
The  commands  of  Christ  are  his  rule  of  duty.  The 
arm  of  Christ  is  his  defence  in  danger.  The  sym- 
pathy of  Christ  is  his  comfort  in  affliction.  The  in- 
tercession of  Christ  is  his  reliance  under  conscious 
ill-desert  and  backsliding.  The  reign  of  Christ  is 
his  confidence  amidst  all  changes.  In  a  word,  he 
has  no  higher  aim  or  aspiration  than  to  bear  the 
image,  and  do  the  will,  of  Christ  here,  and  to  dwell 
with  Christ  hereafter. 

Nor  is  there  anything  mysterious  in  this.  It  re- 
sults from  the  very  nature  of  the  case  that  where 
Christ  is  fully  received  into  the  heart.  He  must 
assume  the  chief  place,  and  subordinate  all  its 
powers  and  passions  to  himself.  I  am  not  speak- 
ing of  a  mere  nominal  piety ;  nor  of  a  faith  which, 
however  genuine,  is  enervated  by  error  and  sin;  but 
of  that  cordial  and  thorough  reception  of  the  Saviour 
which  the  word  of  God  enjoins  and  so  many  of  its 
illustrious  personages  exemplify.  It  is  impossible 
that  such  a  faith  in  Christ  should  be  other  than  a 


What  think  ye  of  Christ  f  51 

dominant  principle  in  the  heart.  That  Divine  Spirit 
who  implanted  it  has  interwoven  all  its  sister  graces 
with  it.  The  admission  of  the  Gospel  doctrine  re- 
specting the  Redeemer  necessarily  draws  the  whole 
body  of  revealed  truth  with  it — history  and  prophecy, 
dogma  and  precept,  threatening  and  promise.  You 
cannot,  i.e.,  you  cannot  consistently,  receive  Christ 
as  a  Saviour  without  receiving  Him  as  a  King  :  you 
cannot  give  Him  your  heart  without  dedicating  to 
Him  your  property,  your  talents,  your  children,  and 
whatever  you  may  esteem  as  of  peculiar  value  :  you 
cannot  honor  Him  in  His  person  without  honoring 
His  word  and  ordinances  :  you  can  have  no  union 
with  Him  which  will  not  identify  you  with  Him  in 
sympathy  and  in  interest,  and  make  His  glory  your 
aim,  and  the  prosperity  of  His  kingdom  your  chief 
joy. 

This  will  exhibit  the  importance  of  the  question, 
"  What  think  ye  of  Christ?"  as  supplying  a  key-note 
to  the  whole  character  and  life.  Where  a  man  thinks 
of  Christ  as  the  apostles  thought  of  Him,  he  will  be 
like  the  apostles  in  his  principles,  aims,  and  conduct. 
Where  one  has  no  sympathy  with  them  in  their 
estimate  of  the  Saviour,  there  will  be  a  corresponding 
difference  in  the  motives  by  which  he  is  impelled  to 
action  and  in  the  sources  from  which  he  draws  his 
happiness.  He  may,  in  this  latter  case,  be  an  up- 
right and  benevolent  man,  in  an  important  sense,  a 


5  2  What  think  ye  of  Christ  f 


good  man  ;  but  it  is  not  the  style  of  goodness  which 
flows  from  faith  in  Christ.  It  is  not  the  goodness 
which  puts  a  man  in  communion  with  the  spirit  that 
pervades  the  apostolic  writings.  Those  writings,  on 
the  contrary,  will  be  likely  to  strike  him  as  mystical 
and  repulsive.  He  will  not  appreciate  the  allusions 
with  which  they  abound  to  the  Saviour  and  the 
cross.  And  the  authors  will  appear  to  him  to  in- 
dulge in  a  vein  approaching  the  fanciful  or  the  ex- 
travagant in  the  language  they  use  respecting  the 
love  of  Christ. 

This  discrepance  is  significant  and  monitory.  It 
not  only  shows  that  the  character  formed  on  the 
basis  of  that  system  usually  denominated  "  evangel- 
ical" is  radically  unlike  the  character  formed  on  any 
other  basis,  but  it  suggests  the  inquiry,  how  far  the 
virtue  which  is  dissevered  from  faith  in  Christ,  "  the 
goodness  which  is  without  godliness,"  will  bear  to 
be  tried  by  the  law  and  the  testimony.  The  mere 
hint  of  any  distrust  on  this  point  is  apt  to  evoke  a 
protest  against  "  uncharitableness."  But  there  is  no 
uncharitableness  in  the  case.  It  is  a  simple  question 
of  fact,  whether  the  morality,  like  the  theology,  of 
the  New  Testament,  derives  its  life  and  power  from 
the  cross ;  and  whether  the  goodness  which  rejects 
a  suffering  and  reigning  Saviour,  or  acknowledges 
Him  only  in  some  casual  or  secondary  manner,  can 
be  that  "  holiness  without  which  no  man  shall  see 


What  think  ye  of  Christ  ?  53 

the  Lord."  The  more  this  point  is  looked  into,  the 
more  manifest  will  it  become  that  we  have  not  ex- 
aggerated the  gravity  of  the  question,  "  What  think 
ye  of  Christ  ?" 

4.  I  observe  once  more,  that  upon  the  answers 
given  to  this  question  zvill  depend  (in  so  far  as  the 
nominally  Christian  world  is  concerned)  tlie  awards 
of  the  last  day. 

This  announcement  may  at  first  seem  to  you  to 
be  in  conflict  with  the  only  detailed  account  of  the 
judgment  contained  in  the  New  Testament  (Matt. 
XXV.  31-46).  But  if  you  examine  that  account,  you 
will  perceive  that  the  various  offices  of  humanity 
and  benevolence  of  which  the  Saviour  speaks,  are 
offices  rendered  or  refused  to  His  disciples,  and  of 
which  He  Himself  therefore  was  the  real  object. 
"  Inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  it  unto  one  of  the  least 
of  these  my  brethren,  ye  have  done  it  unto  me.'' 
"  Inasmuch  as  ye  did  it  not  to  one  of  the  least  of 
these,  ye  did  it  not  to  me."  Kindnesses  bestowed 
upon  His  afflicted  disciples — the  sick,  the  hungry, 
the  naked,  the  imprisoned — are  proofs  and  tokens 
of  love  to  their  Master;  and  the  withholding  of 
these  kindnesses  is  an  evidence  of  want  of  love  to 
Him.  So  that  the  real  question  at  the  Great  Assize 
will  still  be,  "What  think  ye  of  Christ?"  "Are 
your  faith  and  love  fastened  upon  Christ;  and  has 
this  appeared  in  your  treatment  of  His  disciples?" 

5* 


54  What  think  ye  of  Christ  f 

By  this  test  are  we  to  stand  or  fall.  The  inquest 
will  not  be  as  to  our  social  position,  our  wealth, 
learning,  rank,  or  occupation.  It  will  not  be,  "Were 
you  upright  in  your  dealings,  and  charitable  to  the 
poor?"  It  will  not  be,  "Were  you  baptized,  and 
had  you  a  place  at  the  Lord's  table  ?"  Nor,  "  Were 
you  zealous  in  making  proselytes,  and  bold  in  assert- 
ing the  prerogatives  of  the  Church  ?"  But,  "  What 
think  ye  of  Christ  ?"  And  according  as  we  answer 
this  question  shall  we  rise  and  reign  with  Christ  in 
glory,  or  be  banished  from  His  presence.  If  this 
be  a  Scriptural  representation,  it  throws  around  the 
inquiry  we  are  dealing  with  an  aspect  of  solemnity 
which  nothing  could  enhance.  For  whatever  of 
happiness  and  of  woe  may  be  bound  up  in  the  in- 
terminable issues  of  the  judgment,  in  the  felicity  of 
the  ransomed  and  the  misery  of  the  lost,  is  involved 
in  the  question,  "  What  think  ye  of  Christ?" 

Let  Christian  professors,  then,  bring  home  this 
question  to  their  hearts  with  the  force  of  a  per- 
sonal application.  My  brethren,  "  What  think  ye 
of  Christ?"  What  think  ye  of  His  Person?  Is  He 
to  you  the  second  Person  of  the  adorable  Trinity, 
co-eternal  and  coequal  with  the  Father  and  the  Spirit; 
the  Creator  and  Mediatorial  Governor  of  the  universe; 
and  as  such  worthy  the  homage  of  all  creatures? 
What  think  ye  of  His  cross?     Do  you  behold  Him 


What  think  ye  of  Christ  ?  55 

there  as  the  Surety  and  Substitute  of  lost  sinners ; 
assuming  our  law-place ;  enduring  the  penalty  of  our 
sins ;  "  made  a  curse  for  us ;"  satisfying  on  our  be- 
half the  claims  of  Divine  justice  ;  and  in  the  plenary 
fulness  of  His  atonement  magnifying  the  law  and, 
if  that  were  possible,  investing  the  moral  perfections 
of  the  Godhead  with  a  more  exceeding  and  eternal 
weight  of  glory?  What  think  ye  of  His  righteous- 
ness? Have  you  renounced  all  reliance  upon  your 
own  precarious  and  insufficient  virtue,  upon  your 
honesty  and  your  almsgiving,  your  prayers  and  your 
sacraments,  and  made  it  your  one  great  concern  to 
win  Christ  and  be  clothed  with  His  righteousness  as 
the  only  foundation  of  your  hope  of  heaven?  What 
think  ye  of  His  sovereignty?  Do  you  rejoice  in  His 
universal  dominion,  commit  your  interests  into  His 
hands,  serve  Him  with  a  generous  and  inflexible  loy- 
alty, and  do  all  you  can  to  bring  others  to  submit  to 
His  benign  sceptre  ?  What  think  ye  of  His  love  ? 
Does  it  inspire  your  praises,  restrain  your  passions, 
inflame  your  zeal,  and  draw  you  heavenward  with  a 
constancy  that  suffers  no  abatement  and  an  ardor 
that  never  droops?  What  think  ye  of  His  worship? 
Do  you  love  the  habitation  of  His  house,  the  place 
where  His  honor  dwelleth ;  and  do  you  know  what 
it  is  to  come  daily  to  His  feet  and  say,  with  a  grate- 
ful and  confiding  heart,  "  My  Lord!  and  my  God!" 
Such  were  Paul's  thoughts  of  Christ.    So  the  mar- 


5  6  What  think  ye  of  Christ  ? 

tyrs  of  all  ages  have  thought  of  Him.  So  multitudes 
in  our  own  day  think  of  Him.  And  if  you  are  par- 
takers of  this  grace  with  them,  God  has  dealt  most 
mercifully  with  you,  and  has  a  large  claim  upon  your 
gratitude.  This  you  will  best  manifest  by  keeping 
your  thoughts  fixed  upon  Christ,  by  striving  after  a 
clearer  insight  into  the  great  mystery  of  Godliness, 
and  a  more  comprehensive  knowledge  of  the  Re- 
deemer's character  and  offices.  There  are  wonders 
here  the  angels  desire  to  look  into,  and  which  may 
well  employ  their  exalted  powers.  It  is  a  science  of 
which  even  the  devout  student  of  fourscore  has  mas- 
tered only  the  rudiments.  We  stand  where  the  wave 
breaks  upon  the  shore,  and  look  abroad  upon  an 
ocean  which  stretches  off  into  the  infinite  and  loses 
itself  in  the  depths  of  eternity.  We  can  never  know 
the  incarnate  Deity  so  completely  that  the  fulness 
of  His  nature  and  the  effects  of  His  mediation  will 
not  offer  to  our  contemplation  the  same  affluent  and 
boundless  expanse  which  they  do  to-day.  And  if 
at  some  distant  period,  after  you  shall  have  spent 
millions  of  ages  in  the  study  of  these  sublime  and 
animating  themes  amidst  the  radiant  splendors  of 
the  throne  itself,  the  question  should  be  again  pro- 
pounded, "What  think  ye  of  Christ?"  you  will  be 
as  ready  as  you  are  at  this  hour  to  confess  that  you 
have  only  begun  to  explore  the  glories  of  redemp- 
tion, and  are  as  far  as  ever  from  comprehending  the 


What  think  ye  of  Christ  f  57 

height  and  depth  and  breadth  and  length  of  the  love 
of  Christ  which  passeth  knowledge. 

Passing  by  other  classes,  I  may  be  allowed  a  clos- 
ing word  to  those  who  are  addicted  to  liberal  studies, 
to  the  men  of  culture  and  of  science,  who  may,  per- 
adventure,  be  quite  out  of  sympathy  with  a  discussion 
like  that  we  have  been  engaged  in,  and  who  are  more 
likely  to  be  repelled  than  attracted  by  a  specific  ap- 
plication to  themselves  of  the  question,  "  What  think 
ye  of  Christ  ?"  It  is  a  supposable  case  that  this 
question  might  awaken  in  some  of  your  breasts 
emotions  bordering  upon  disdain,  so  uncongenial  is 
it  with  those  sedate  philosophical  views  on  religion 
which  you  are  fond  of  indulging.  Or  if  this  be  not 
the  precise  ground  you  stand  upon,  you  may  candidly 
acknowledge  that  the  subject  is  one  on  which  you 
have  bestowed  but  little  careful  reflection,  so  that 
you  are  scarcely  prepared  to  say  zuliat  you  "  think 
of  Christ." 

Now  without  venturing  far  into  a  field  which,  under 
other  circumstances,  it  might  be  very  profitable  to 
traverse,  will  you  indulge  me  in  the  suggestion  that 
indifference  to  this  subject — still  more,  contempt  for 
it — seems  wholly  incongruous  to  the  reputation  to 
which  you  aspire?  As  educated  men,  you  claim  to 
be  lovers  of  truth,  and  eager  for  the  acquisition  of 
knowledge.  You  delight  in  exploring  the  arcana  of 
nature.      You    range    through   the   vegetable   world 


58  What  think  ye  of  Christ  f 


from  the  hyssop  on  the  wall  to  the  cedar  of  Leba- 
non. Your  cabinets  are  filled  with  the  spoils  of  the 
mines  and  the  sea.  You  soar  aloft  and  follow  the 
stars  in  their  courses  with  a  rapture  which  belongs 
rather  to  the  joyousness  of  childhood  than  to  the 
gravity  of  age.  You  exult  over  the  acquisition  of 
an  unchronicled  worm  or  butterfly.  Or,  employing 
your  powers  in  other  fields,  you  are  rifling  of  their 
treasures  the  rich  depositories  of  history  and  archae- 
ology. You  are  pushing  your  researches  with  an 
honorable  professional  pride  into  the  labyrinths  of 
jurisprudence  or  the  more  subtle  mysteries  of  medi- 
cine. You  are  absorbed  with  theories  of  social  reform ; 
with  discussions  on  government  and  politics  ;  or  with 
schemes  of  education.  And  when  we  break  in  upon 
you  in  your  eager  search  after  truth  with  the  ques- 
tion, "What  think  ye  of  Christ?"  you  well-nigh  re- 
gard it  as  an  intrusion.  You  at  least  feel  for  the 
time  that  it  is  an  ungracious  interruption  ;  an  attempt 
to  divert  you  from  studies  of  real  interest  and  im- 
portance, to  an  investigation  which  may  better  than 
not  be  postponed  to  some  undefined  future.  Gen- 
uine philosophy,  let  me  assure  you,  without  ofifence, 
has  as  little  to  do  with  this  feeling  as  piety.  For 
Who  was  it  that  created  and  replenished  our  globe, 
and  impressed  upon  its  inanimate  furniture  the  laws 
you  are  so  fond  of  tracing  and  recording?  Whose 
pencil  embellished  the  lily  of  the  field,  and  painted 


What  think  ye  of  Christ?  59 

the  iris  upon  the  insect's  wing,  and  tinted  with  such 
wondrous  beauty  the  shell  which  tempestuous  waves 
have  wafted  you  from  the  unfathomed  caves  of  the 
ocean?  Whose  hand  hung  Arcturus  and  Orion, 
Canopus  and  Sirius,  in  their  orbits,  and  wheels  them 
onward  in  their  viewless  air-paths  from  one  majestic 
cycle  to  another,  "  without  variableness  or  shadow 
of  turning"?  Whose  mechanism  is  this  human  frame, 
"  so  fearfully  and  wonderfully  made"  ?  Whose  agency 
has  from  the  beginning  shaped  the  destinies  of  na- 
tions and  empires?  Who  is  the  source  of  all  law 
and  of  all  government,  the  true  Power  Plenipoten- 
tiary, to  whom  all  creatures  in  all  worlds  owe  alle- 
giance; whose  smile  would  make  a  heaven  of  hell, 
whose  frown  would  make  a  hell  of  heaven  ?  It  is 
He  who  is  this  day  preached  unto  you ;  He  whose 
name  falls  upon  your  ears  with  an  unwelcome  and 
repulsive  sound  when  I  ask  you,  "  What  think  ye 
of  Christ?"  "For  by  Him  were  all  things  created 
that  are  in  heaven  and  that  are  in  earth,  visible  and 
invisible,  whether  they  be  thrones,  or  dominions,  or 
principalities,  or  powers :  all  things  were  created  by 
Him  and  for  Him."  And  it  is  for  you  who  chal- 
lenge to  yourselves  the  dignity  and  the  candor  of 
cultivated  and  philosophic  men  to  say,  whether  this 
flagrant  disparagement  of  the  Creator  is  in  keeping 
with  your  devotion  to  His  creatures.  Is  it  philo- 
sophical, is  it  rational,  is  it  less  than  an  indignity  to 


6o  What  think  ye  of  Christ  f 

science  itself,  to  lavish  such  attentions  upon  the  works 
of  nature  and  withhold  the  homage  of  your  hearts 
from  nature's  God  ?  Are  human  laws  everything 
to  you,  and  the  Divine  law  nothing?  Are  earthly 
governments  worthy  of  your  profoundest  study,  and 
is  there  nothing  to  invite  your  researches  in  that 
august  government  which  has  Jehovah  for  its  Head, 
the  universe  for  its  domain,  and  eternity  for  its  dura- 
tion ? 

But  there  is  a  still  more  serious  aspect  to  this  in- 
quiry. If  you  can  waive  the  question  of  a  Creator, 
you  will  certainly  concede  the  infinite  importance  of 
the  question  of  a  Saviour.  "  What  think  ye  of 
Christ?"  Is  He  the  Son  of  God  incarnate?  Has 
He  made  an  atonement  for  sin?  Has  He  opened 
heaven  to  the  guilty  and  the  lost?  Does  He  offer 
to  save  lis  ?  May  we  come  to  Him  for  salvation 
now  and  just  as  we  are  ?  Is  His  name  the  only 
name  by  which  we  can  be  saved  ?  If  we  reject  Him 
must  we  go  down  to  a  deeper  hell  than  if  He  had 
never  died?  And  may  any  offer  of  pardon  to  which 
we  listen  be  the  last  we  shall  ever  receive  ?  These 
questions,  at  least,  are  important, — as  important  to 
you  as  thd^^can  be  to  the  most  illiterate  and  servile 
of  the  race;  so  important,  indeed,  and  so  urgent, 
that  no  language  can  set  forth  their  deep  solemnity. 
Will  you  ponder  them  ?  Will  you  turn  your  thoughts 
to  Christ?     Will  you  invoke  the  Spirit  of  God  to 


What  think  ye  of  Christ  ?  61 

guide  your  inquiries,  to  take  of  the  things  of  Christ 
and  show  them  unto  you,  to  lead  you  to  His  cross 
and  cleanse  you  with  His  blood  ?  This  do,  and 
when  you  stand  before  His  bar  you  will  be  able  to 
hear  without  dismay,  nay,  you  will  even  hear  with 
ecstasy,  that  question  of  questions,  "  What  think 
YE  OF  Christ?" 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  PROVIDENCE. 


Job  xxvi.   14. 


"Zf,  tJicse  are  parts  of  His  zvays." 

This  language  occurs  in  one  of  the  many  very 
eloquent  passages  of  this  remarkable  book.  The 
patriarch,  extolling  the  majesty  and  might  of  Jeho- 
vah, adduces  various  exhibitions  of  His  power  in  the 
natural  world.  "  He  stretcheth  out  the  North  over 
the  empty  place,  and  hangeth  the  earth  upon  noth- 
ing. He  bindeth  up  the  waters  in  His  thick  clouds ; 
and  the  cloud  is  not  rent  under  them.  He  holdeth 
back  the  face  of  His  throne,  and  spreadeth  His  cloud 
upon  it.  He  hath  compassed  the  waters  with  bounds, 
until  the  day  and  night  come  to  an  end.  The  pillars 
of  heaven  tremble  and  are  astonished  at  His  reproof. 
He  dividetli  the  sea  with  His  power,  and  by  His  un- 
derstanding He  smiteth  through  the  proud.  By  His 
Spirit  He  hath  garnished  the  heavens  ;  His  hand  hath 
formed  the  crooked  serpent.*     Lo,  these  are  parts  of 

*  The  constellation  called  the  "  Serpent"  or  "  Dragon." 
62 


The  Mystery  of  Providence.  6^ 

His  wavs :  but  how  little  a  portion  is  heard  of  Him  ? 
but  the  thunder  of  His  power  who  can  understand?" 

The  meaning  of  the  last  verse  appears  to  be  this : 
"  These  manifestations  of  the  Deity,  grand  and  im- 
posing as  they  are,  present  but  a  very  inadequate 
display  of  His  character  and  works.  They  are,  as  it 
were,  but  a  breathing  of  His  power.  Should  He  re- 
veal it  in  all  its  grandeur,  what  we  now  see  would 
be  but  as  a  whisper  to  the  crashing  thunder;  and 
who  could  comprehend  or  bear  to  look  upon  it  ?" 

It  is  the  feeling  of  every  devout  philosopher  en- 
gaged in  the  researches  of  natural  science,  "  These 
are  parts  of  His  ways."  He  well  knows  that  what 
he  sees  of  the  works  of  the  Creator  can  bear  no  com- 
parison with  what  he  does  not  see.  When  he  meets 
with  difficulties,  therefore,  which  baffle  his  sagacity, 
he  modestly  refers  them  to  his  own  ignorance,  satis- 
fied that  there  must  be  principles  or  facts  as  yet  un- 
discovered which  will  explain  them.  It  is  the  sciolist 
who  draws  sweeping  conclusions  from  scant  prem- 
ises. And  since  the  world  just  now  abounds  with 
sciolists,  it  should  excite  neither  surprise  nor  appre- 
hension that  such  constant  efforts  are  made  to  array 
science  against  Christianity.  It  seems  to  belong  to 
the  childhood  of  every  new  science  to  assume  a 
threatening  air  towards  the  Bible.  But  it  never  lasts 
beyond  its  period  of  leading-strings.  Astronomy 
set  the  example;   but  it  soon   got  ashamed  of  its 


64  The  Mystery  of  Providence. 


temerity,  and  has  made  what  amends  it  could,  by 
lending  its  aid  to  exalt  the  God  of  the  Bible.  Geol- 
ogy came  next,  and  picked  up  the  broken  lance 
Astronomy  had  thrown  away.  But  its  eyes  have 
been  opened,  and  it  finds  most  of  its  objections  an- 
nulled by  a  more  careful  collation  of  its  own  facts 
and  a  true  interpretation  of  the  first  chapter  of  Gen- 
esis, Another  juvenile  champion  has  since  taken 
the  field  and  proclaimed,  with  sound  of  trumpet,  that 
the  Bible  is  mistaken  in  asserting  that  "  God  hath 
made  of  one  blood  all  nations  of  men  for  to  dwell  on 
the  face  of  the  whole  earth."  Up  to  this  period, 
however,  its  chief  expositors  have  neither  settled 
their  definitions,  nor  come  to  any  satisfactory  agree- 
ment as  to  the  facts  with  which  they  have  to  deal. 
It  is  safe  to  predict  that  Ethnology,  like  its  sister- 
sciences,  will  exchange  a  youth  of  skepticism  for  a 
manhood  of  vigorous  and  trustful  faith.  It  will  dis- 
cover, as  they  have,  that  its  early  conclusions  were 
premature  and  unauthorized,  founded  upon  a  very 
partial  induction,  and  animated  by  an  arrogance 
equally  offensive  to  sound  philosophy  and  to  gen- 
uine piety. 

It  will  do  much  to  save  science  from  repeating 
these  mistakes  indefinitely  to  keep  in  mind  that,  in 
its  profoundest  researches  into  the  arcana  of  nature, 
it  sees  but  ''parts  of  His  ways"  who  made  and 
governs  all. 


The  Mysteiy  of  Providence.  65 

And  what  is  here  affirmed  of  creation  is  no  less 
true  of  His  Providence.  In  this  view  the  text  affirms 
a  proposition  which  well  deserves  our  serious  con- 
sideration. The  scientific  students  of  nature  are 
comparatively  few  in  number.  Providence  comes 
home  to  us  all.  It  has  to  do  with  every  one's 
affairs  at  every  moment  of  life.  Not  to  feel  inter- 
ested in  ascertaining  the  principles  upon  which  it 
is  administered  would  argue  a  discreditable  insensi- 
bility to  our  highest  welfare.  To  overlook  the  facts 
which  have  their  proper  expression  in  the  statement, 
"  These  are  parts  of  His  ways,"  is  impossible.  They 
crowd  upon  us  in  every  direction.  There  is  not  a 
page  of  history,  sacred  or  profane,  to  which  they  do 
not  lend  a  coloring.  They  give  every  thoughtful 
man  food  for  anxious  reflection. 

For  who  does  not  feel  that  this  whole  dispensa- 
tion under  which  we  live  is  a  mystery?  We  come 
into  being  the  heirs  of  a  depraved  nature.  The 
world,  of  which  we  are  made  the  unconscious  ten- 
ants, discloses  itself  to  our  opening  faculties  as  a 
scene  replete  with  temptation  and  filled  with  suffer- 
ing. We  see  that  the  frown  of  God  is  upon  it.  Sin, 
sorrow,  and  death  range  over  every  part  of  it.  More 
than  half  its  population  are  idolaters.  Three-fourths 
of  the  remainder  are  toiling  to  support  the  other 
fourth.  Man  is  doomed  to  a  life  of  labor.  The  re- 
luctant earth   refuses  to   sustain  him   except  at  the 

6* 


66  The  Mystery  of  Providence. 

cost  of  incessant  and  exhausting  service.  Ever  and 
anon  war  breaks  forth,  and  desolates  cities  and  em- 
pires. Pestilence  and  famine  sweep  off  their  millions. 
The  bad  are  exalted.  The  righteous  are  oppressed. 
Good  men  are  cut  off  in  the  midst  of  their  useful- 
ness, and  the  idle,  the  miserly,  and  the  vicious  are 
spared.  The  Gospel  of  Christ,  God's  own  cure  for 
the  world's  maladies,  makes  its  way  slowly  and 
feebly  through  the  earth.  When  we  look  at  a  group 
of  Missionaries  pursuing  their  tedious  work  in  China 
or  Hindostan,  we  are  ready  to  ask,  "  Why  was  not 
the  baptism  of  Pentecost  made  transmissive  and  per- 
petual in  the  Church,  that  so  the  miracle  of  three 
thousand  conversions  in  a  day  might  have  been  re- 
peated till  all  were  saved?"  And  if  these  distant 
scenes  affect  us,  much  more  are  we  impressed  by 
what  passes  around  and  within  us.  Nowhere  can 
virtue  maintain  itself  without  a  struggle.  We  are 
conscious  of  a  propensity  to  forsake  God.  Our 
purest  affections  become  snares  to  us.  Multitudes 
are  overborne  by  the  great  current  of  evil,  and  swept 
away  to  appear  no  more.  No  one  advances  a  step 
heavenward  without  having  to  contest  every  inch  of 
the  way.  Travelling  the  narrow  path  is  like  stem- 
ming the  current  of  a  rapid  river :  if  you  stop  your 
oars  even  for  an  instant  you  begin  to  drift  with  the 
tide.  The  very  holiest  men  form  no  exception.  In- 
dwelling sin  is  their  scourge  and  burden  to  the  end. 


The  Mystery  of  Providence.  67 

It  was  an  eminent  apostle  who  exclaimed,  "  When  I 
would  do  good  evil  is  present  with  me,  so  that  the 
good  which  I  would  I  do  not,  and  the  evil  which  I 
would  not  that  I  do."  And  every  one  who  tries  it 
finds  that  it  is  by  no  mere  figure  of  speech  that  the 
Christian  life  is  styled  a  warfare  and  a  crucifixion. 

The  mystery  which  enfolds  this  whole  condition 
of  things  deepens  when  we  consider  the  character 
of  the  Supreme  Being.  It  seems,  at  first  view,  to 
be  incompatible  with  His  moral  perfections.  The 
Scriptures  ascribe  to  Him  infinite  wisdom,  boundless 
goodness,  and  immaculate  holiness,  as  well  as  om- 
nipotence. How  can  it  consort  with  these  attri- 
butes that  a  state  of  things  like  that  just  described 
should  be  tolerated  ?  His  omnipotence  precludes 
the  supposition  that  He  has  not  power  to  rectify  it. 
And  reasoning  from  what  we  know  of  the  other 
qualities  as  they  exist  among  men,  the  presumption 
would  be,  that  they  must  all  unite  in  demanding  an 
entire  change.  But  this  state  of  apparent  disorder 
and  turmoil  continues.  Good  and  evil  are  strangely 
intermixed.  Sin  and  sorrow  reign.  And  virtue 
makes  its  way  to  heaven  through  the  fires. 

We  are  all  pressed  with  these  difficulties.  It  is  a 
tangled  web  which  we  cannot  unravel.  Sometimes, 
in  meditating  upon  it,  our  faith  almost  gives  way. 
Though  we  may  not  murmur,  we  are  tempted  to  re- 
pine that  our   condition  here   should   be   so    unlike 


68  The  Mystery  of  Providence. 


what  vvc  feel  it  might  have  been.  And  vvc  detect 
ourselves  secretly  asking,  "  Why  has  God  made  me 
thus  ?  Why  has  He  appointed  to  me  this  or  that 
allotment?  Why  must  I  encounter  this  temptation? 
Why  drink  of  this  cup  of  sorrow  ?"  These  are  the 
moanings  of  our  inner  nature.  They  come  up  like 
mournful  echoes  from  the  deep  caverns  of  the  sea. 
And  though  no  other  ear  may  hear  them,  we  hear 
them,  and  they  make  us  sad. 

If  there  be  any  method  of  removing  or  mitigating 
these  trials,  we  ought  to  know  it.  To  resolve  the 
enigma  of  our  present  state,  and  clear  up  every 
shadow  that  rests  upon  it,  is  of  course  impossible. 
But  it  should  be  an  acceptable  service,  if  we  can 
throw  upon  the  scene  a  single  ray  of  light  which 
may,  by  God's  blessing,  help  to  reconcile  us  for  the 
time  to  what  we  cannot  fully  comprehend.  Such  a 
clew,  if  I  mistake  not,  is  furnished  us  by  our  text, — 
at  least,  in  that  aspect  in  which  we  are  taking  the 
words,  by  way  of  accommodation  to  our  subject. 
It  is  a  thoroughly  scriptural  sentiment,  everywhere 
expressed  or  implied  throughout  the  Bible :  "  Lo, 
these  are  parts  of  His  ways."  And  we  may  be  al- 
lowed to  use  this  language  as  equivalent  to  that 
declaration  of  the  apostle,  "  We  know  in  part."  To 
take  this  world  by  itself,  dissevered  from  its  relations 
to  the  great  scheme  of  Providence,  and  from  its  own 
past  and  future,  is  to  consign  ourselves  to  atheism 


The  Mystery  of  Providence.  69 

and  despair.  To  contemplate  it  as  only  a  part,  an 
infinitesimal  part,  of  a  "  stupendous  whole,"  will  re- 
lieve even  its  darkest  features,  and  assist  us  in  believ- 
ing that,  although  "  clouds  and  darkness  are  round 
about  Him,  righteousness  and  judgment  are  the 
habitation  of  His  throne." 

"  These  are  parts  of  His  ways."  There  is  a  prime 
truth  presented  in  these  last  two  words.  We  are  not 
to  escape  from  the  perplexities  of  our  position  by- 
denying  that  the  Divine  government  extends  to  this 
moral  chaos  around  us.  All  that  we  read  of  our 
past  history,  all  that  we  see  and  feel,  the  events 
which  most  confound,  and  the  facts  which  most  ap- 
pall us,  are  "parts  oi His  zvays!'  Whatever  is,  is  by 
His  direction  or  permission.  It  might  serve  a  pres- 
ent purpose  to  ascribe  some  of  the  calamities  of  our 
condition,  or  certain  of  the  prominent  evils  which  so 
inscrutably  mix  themselves  up  in  our  lot,  to  chance. 
But  no  evil  could  be  so  fearful,  no  calamity  so  over- 
whelming, as  that  of  owing  allegiance  to  a  God  who 
could  allow  anything  to  happen  in  any  part  of  the 
universe  except  with  His  own  consent  or  by  His  own 
command.  The  very  suggestion  would  impeach  the 
perfection  and  sovereignty  of  Jehovah,  and  degrade 
Him  to  a  level  with  "the  gods  of  the  heathen,  which 
are  no  gods."  Were  it  possible  for  some  apparently 
trivial  incident  to  occur  in  the  life  of  a  child  which 
was  not  comprised  in  the  Divine  purpose,  it  might 


70  The  Mystery  of  Providence. 


ultimately  disturb  the  entire  course  of  His  adminis- 
tration, precisely  as  an  unexpected  perturbation  in 
the  motion  of  one  of  the  minor  planetary  orbs  might 
affect  the  equipoise  and  harmony  of  the  whole  stellar 
system. 

Not  only  are  all  these  inequalities  of  our  condi- 
tion— the  disappointments  and  hardships,  the  suffer- 
ing and  misery — of  life  "  parts  of  His  ways,"  but  they 
proceed  according  to  a  purpose ;  they  belong  to  a 
plan  which  embraces  as  well  the  minutest  as  the 
most  august  events ;  as  well  the  fall  of  a  tear  as  the 
fall  of  an  empire.  The  state  of  things  in  our  world 
was  alluded  to  a  moment  since  as  a  "  moral  chaos." 
But  it  is  a  "  chaos"  only  to  our  limited  and  imperfect 
vision.  "  The  events  of  Providence  appear  to  us  very 
much  like  the  letters  thrown  into  a  post-bag.  When 
we  look  into  that  repository,  it  may  seem  as  if  its 
contents  were  in  inextricable  confusion.  But  then 
every  letter  has  its  special  address  inscribed  upon  it; 
it  has  the  name  and  residence  of  the  party,  and  so  it 
shall  in  due  time  fall  into  his  hands,  and  bring  its 
proper  intelligence.  And  this  intelligence  it  con- 
veys to  the  persons  intended,  regardless  of  the  emo- 
tions that  are  excited.  It  is  a  kind  of  picture  of  the 
movements  of  Providence.  What  a  crowd  of  events 
huddled  together,  and  apparently  confused,  does  it 
carry  along  with  it !  Very  diverse  are  the  objects 
bound  up   in  that   bundle,  and  very  varied  are  the 


The  Mystery  of  Providence.  7 1 

emotions  which  they  are  to  excite  when  opened; 
and  yet  how  coolly  and  systematically  does  the 
vehicle  proceed  on  its  way  !  Neither  the  joy  nor  the 
sorrow  which  it  produces  causes  it  to  linger  an  in- 
stant in  its  course.  But  meanwhile,  every  occur- 
rence, or  bundle  of  occurrences,  is  let  out  at  its  proper 
place.  Each  has  a  name  inscribed  upon  it,  and  a 
place  to  which  it  is  addressed.  Each,  too,  has  a 
message  to  carry  and  a  purpose  to  fulfil.  Some  of 
these  inspire  hope  or  joy,  and  others  raise  fear  and 
sorrow.  The  events  which  are  unfolded  by  the  same 
course  of  things,  and  which  fall  out  the  same  day, 
bring  gladness  to  one,  and  land  another  in  deepest 
distress.  On  the  occurrence  of  the  same  event  you 
perceive  one  weeping  and  another  rejoicing.  Some 
of  the  dispensations  are  observed  to  propagate  pros- 
perity through  a  whole  community.  And  these 
others,  so  black  and  dismal,  and  of  which  so  many 
arrive  at  the  same  time,  carry,  as  they  are  scattered, 
gloom  into  the  abodes  of  thousands.  But  amid  all 
this  seeming  confusion  every  separate  event  has  its 
separate  destination.  It  has  a  commission,  and  it 
will  execute  it ;  but  it  cannot  go  beyond  its  com- 
mission."* 

It  is  something  to  be  assured  of  this  :  to  know  that 
while  our  world  has  broken  away  from  its  allegiance 

*  McCosh :  Div.  Gov.,  p.  206. 


72  The  Mystery  of  Providence. 

to  God,  His  pervading  and  controlling  agency  is  as 
really  concerned  in  everything  which  occurs  here 
as  it  is  in  directing  the  affairs  of  those  orbs  whose 
atmosphere  no  breath  of  sin  has  ever  tainted.  But 
we  must  not  pause  here. 

If  it  be  so,  that  these  events  are  ''parts  of  His 
ways,"  both  reason  and  religion  forbid  us  to  judge 
of  them  as  though  they  were  the  zvhole  of  His  ways. 
On  all  other  subjects,  in  all  other  relations,  we  recog- 
nize the  validity  of  the  principle  upon  which  this 
observation  rests.  No  man  is  willing  to  have  his 
work  judged  until  it  is  completed.  You  cannot 
gauge  the  wisdom  of  the  husbandman  from  his 
ploughing  and  seeding;  nor  the  taste  of  the  archi- 
tect from  his  foundations.  The  advocate  bids  you 
wait  till  his  entire  case  is  unfolded ;  and  the  physi- 
cian, till  you  have  seen  the  effects  of  his  treatment. 
The  statesman  insists  that  you  shall  test  his  policy 
by  its  fruits ;  and  the  warrior  protests  against  an 
arraignment  of  his  plans  before  the  campaign  is 
finished.  We  are  bound  to  apply  the  same  prin- 
ciple in  judging  of  the  ways  of  God  to  man. 
It  may  very  well  be  that  there  are  features  in  His 
providential  government  which  we  cannot  now  ex- 
plain ;  mysteries  which  foil  our  penetration,  and  leave 
the  wisest  of  the  race,  equally  with  the  simplest,  at 
a  loss  as  to  the  true  solution  of  them.  Knowing,  as 
we  do,  that  these  are  but  "parts  of  His  ways,"  and 


The  Mystery  of  Providence.  73 

conscious  that  "here  we  see  through  a  glass  darkly," 
we  have  no  right  to  assume  that  every  arrangement 
will  not  be  satisfactorily  vindicated  hereafter.  The 
presumption  is  the  other  way :  that  the  phenomena 
which  yield  us  this  perennial  harvest  of  doubts  and 
misgivings  will  be  cleared  up;  that  the  manifold  evils 
of  the  present  economy  will  be  redressed,  and  all  its 
inequalities  adjusted  on  principles  which  shall  com- 
mand the  assent  of  the  intelligent  universe.  No  one 
can  read  the  Scriptures  without  observing  how  con- 
stantly they  appeal  from  the  present  to  the  future, 
from  the  sufferings  incident  to  this  life,  to  the  re- 
wards of  the  next.  For  example,  one  of  the  anoma- 
lies which  embarrass  our  faith  is,  that  God  should 
allow  the  wicked  to  persecute  the  righteous.  But 
the  Bible  does  not  treat  this  as  a  marvel.  It  even 
turns  the  curse  into  a  blessing.  "  Blessed  are  they 
which  are  persecuted  for  righteousness'  sake :  for 
theirs  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  "  Beloved,  think 
it  not  strange  concerning  the  fiery  trial  which  is  to 
try  you,  as  though  some  strange  thing  happened 
unto  you  :  but  rejoice,  inasmuch  as  ye  are  partakers 
of  Christ's  sufferings ;  that,  when  His  glory  shall  be 
revealed,  ye  may  be  glad  also  with  exceeding  joy." 
What  will  the  righteous  think  of  their  wrongs  and 
trials  here  when  they  inherit  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
and  share  in  the  glory  of  the  Saviour?  This  is  a 
familiar    illustration   of    the    prevalent    tone    of   the 

7 


74  The  Mystery  of  Providence, 


sacred  writers  in  treating  of  this  subject.  There  is 
always  a  reference,  expressed  or  implied,  to  a  com- 
ing judgment  and  a  final  dispensation.  This  whole 
scheme  of  things,  though  impressed  with  infinite 
importance  to  us  in  its  relations  to  what  is  invisiiale 
and  future,  is  practically  regarded  as  a  preliminary 
and  transient  institution, — a  mere  scaffolding,  which 
is  to  be  taken  down  when  its  purposes  are  accom- 
plished. Is  a  building  to  be  judged  by  the  scaffold 
used  in  erecting  it  ? 

But  we  proceed  a  step  further.  While  the  exist- 
ing state  of  things  comprises  "parts"  only  "of  God's 
ways,"  we  can  so  far  understand  it  as  to  perceive 
that  it  is  what  it  is  because  wc  arc  what  zve  arc.  It 
is  the  character  of  man  which  has  determined  the 
character  of  the  dispensation  under  which  he  lives. 
The  facts  and  arrangements  about  which  we  are 
arguing  could  have  no  place  in  a  sphere  consecrated 
to  holiness,  nor  in  one  resigned  to  unrestrained  de- 
pravity. They  define  a  state  of  rebellion  and  an- 
archy ;  but  anarchy  and  rebellion  held  in  check, — 
a  state  of  moral  ruin,  but  ruin  not  yet  irretrievable. 

We  may  not  attempt  to  penetrate  the  Divine 
counsels  and  inquire  why  this  order  of  things  was 
established  in  preference  to  some  other.  But  since 
it  is  established,  we  cannot  fail  to  see  that  it  ex- 
presses in  a  most  emphatic  manner  God's  hatred  of 
sin.      Not  to  go  into  any  elucidation  of  this  point 


The  Mystery  of  Providence.  75 

beyond  the  exigencies  of  the  present  argument, 
there  are  two  things  which  illustrate  it,  too  con- 
spicuous in  the  phenomena  with  which  we  are 
dealing  to  be  overlooked.  One  is  the  intimate 
connection  between  sin  and  suffering.  Not  only 
may  all  the  suffering  in  the  world  be  traced  back  to 
the  one  transgression  of  the  first  man;  but,  in  the 
settled  course  of  events,  moral  evil  produces  natural 
evil;  the  violation  of  the  Divine  law  produces  un- 
happiness,  pain,  and  death.  In  every  graveyard  we 
may  read  what  God  thinks  of  sin.  The  other  fact 
is,  that  the  righteous  experience  such  difficulties  in 
the  culture  and  practice  of  piety.  These  difficulties 
are  from  within  and  from  without.  They  might 
have  been  exonerated  from  them.  They  might  have 
been  made  perfectly  holy  in  their  regeneration,  and 
the  arm  of  Omnipotence  might  have  kept  both 
wicked  men  and  devils  from  either  assailing  or 
tempting  them.  The  Christian  life,  in  that  case, 
would  have  been  no  "warfare;"  and  our  eyes  would 
not  have  been  pained,  as  they  are  now,  by  seeing  the 
grievous  wrongs  so  often  inflicted  upon  the  people 
of  God  because  they  are  His  people.  Had  it  seemed 
good  to  Him,  indeed,  God  might  have  exempted 
them  from  the  various  trials  which  they  now  share 
with  the  unbelieving  world.  But  He  has  done  none 
of  these  things.  As  if  to  mark  His  sense  of  the  evil 
of  sin   in  a  manner  not  to  be  misunderstood,  He 


76  The  Mystery  of  Providence. 

leaves  His  own  children  to  taste  its  bitterness,  even 
after  they  are  freed  from  its  penalty.  Earth  must 
still  be  to  them  a  vale  of  tears.  They  must  endure 
the  common  lot  of  change  and  disappointment,  of 
sickness  and  decay.  Like  all  others,  they  must  en- 
counter ingratitude  and  unkindness,  calumny  and  in- 
justice. They  must  see  their  fondest  hopes  blighted. 
They  must  follow  their  loved  ones  to  the  tomb. 
Nay,  they  must  learn  by  painful  experience  that 
heaven  is  to  be  attained  only  as  the  result  of  an  in- 
cessant conflict  with  their  own  vagrant  passions  and 
the  enticements  of  a  corrupt  world. 

Do  we  mistake  in  this  interpretation?  Is  not  this 
very  condition  of  things,  which  wears  such  an  aspect 
of  mystery  to  our  eyes,  eminently  adapted  to  exhibit 
God's  displeasure  against  sin  ?  And  while  nothing 
can  illustrate  this  like  the  cross,  is  it  not  an  affecting 
confirmation  of  it  that  He  should  require  even  His 
redeemed  ones,  who  wear  His  image,  and  bear  His 
name,  and  would  willingly  die  to  honor  Him,  to 
make  their  way  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
"through  much  tribulation"?  If  these  "parts  of 
His  ways"  upon  which  we  are  dilating  seem  to  be 
shrouded  in  mystery,  let  it  be  considered  whether 
any  other  course  of  events  could  e.xhibit  so  forcibly 
His  estimate  of  moral  evil.  And  of  what  ineffable 
importance  He  deems  it,  that  due  expression  should 
be  given  to  this    sentiment,  may  be  seen  alike   in 


The  Mystery  of  Providence.  'j'j 

man's  ruin  and  his  recovery  ;  in  the  awful  conse- 
quences which  were  Hnked  with  the  first  offence,  and 
in  the  priceless  blood  which  was  shed  to  atone  for 
sin.  The  lesson  written  so  vividly  upon  the  prime- 
val garden,  and  upon  the  cross,  may  be  traced  no 
less  in  all  the  confusion  and  misery,  the  sicknesses 
and  sorrows,  the  sufferings  and  wrongs,  which  spread 
their  deadly  savor  over  the  whole  habitable  globe. 

Again,  it  must  be  apparent  to  a  candid  observer 
that  the  existing  state  of  things,  while  it  displays 
God's  estimate  of  sin,  is  adapted  to  supply  the  very 
training  zuhich  ive  need. 

It  was  just  now  remarked  that  things  are  as  they 
are  because  we  are  what  we  are.  The  great  contest 
of  which  our  globe  is  the  theatre  is,  whether  God  or 
man  shall  reign.  The  pride  which,  in  the  unrenewed 
heart,  boldly  defies  the  power  of  its  Maker,  still 
cleaves  to  the  believer.  He  is  too  much  disposed  to 
lean  upon  his  own  strength,  and  to  walk  by  the  light 
of  his  own  wisdom.  The  radical  principle  of  the 
new  nature  is  faith.  The  end  which  the  Gospel  con- 
templates is  that  of  making  man  cease  from  himself 
and  from  all  creatures,  and  trust  in  Jehovah  alone. 
It  requires  him  to  do  what  the  angels  do, — find  his 
happiness  in  God,  and  confide  in  Him,  whether  he 
can  understand  His  dispensations  or  not.  In  this 
view,  the  mysteries  of  the  present  economy  meet  an 
urgent  want  of  our  nature.      The  lesson  they  incul- 

7* 


78  The  Mystery  of  Providence. 

cate  is  that  lesson  of  humility  and  faith  which  wc  are 
so  slow  to  receive.  They  demand  of  us  an  implicit 
confidence  in  the  wisdom  and  benevolence  of  God, 
in  the  presence  of  arrangements  which,  to  the  mere 
eye  of  sense,  look  as  though  the  world  had  escaped 
from  His  control.  They  bid  us  accept  as  just  and 
needful,  allotments  which  have  their  ground  and 
reason  hidden  from  our  view.  They  impose  silence 
where  unbelief  would  make  us  murmur,  and  submis- 
sion where  pride  would  stir  us  up  to  rebellion.  To  our 
unchastened  speculations  they  oppose  a  barrier  which 
has  its  height  and  depth  in  the  infinite,  and  which 
is  inscribed  all  over  with  the  imperial  edict,  "Thus 
far  shalt  thou  come,  and  no  further."  When  we  ask, 
"  How  could  a  just  and  good  Being  permit  sin  to  in- 
vade the  world?  Why  did  He  not  arrest  the  conse- 
quences of  their  disobedience  with  the  first  pair? 
Why  are  the  righteous  oppressed  and  the  wicked 
exalted?"  we  receive  a  two-fold  answer.  The  first 
response  is,  "  Be  still,  and  know  that  I  am  God." 
The  second  is,  "  Lo,  these  are  parts  of  His  ways." 
The  first  addresses  itself  to  our  fiiith ;  the  second  to 
our  reason.     Both  are  suited  to  our  moral  training. 

But  there  is  a  discipline  here,  no  less  needful,  which 
touches  us  more  keenly :  it  is  the  discipline  of  temp- 
tation. Virtue  is  like  the  Alpine  fir,  which  thrives 
amidst  the  storms.  Not  only  in  the  inspired  word, 
but  upon  every  feature  of  this  scene  of  conflict  and 


The  Mystery  of  Providence.  79 

trouble,  is  it  written,  "  This  is  the  will  of  God,  even 
your  sanctification."  The  believer  finds  himself  set 
upon  by  fierce  adversaries,  clothed  it  may  be  as  angels 
of  light;  and  his  own  half-subdued  passions,  un- 
leashed, raise  a  turmoil  in  his  breast.  But  it  does 
not  happen  without  a  purpose.  "  Blessed  is  the  man 
that  endureth  temptation ;  for  when  he  is  tried,  he 
shall  receive  the  crown  of  life,  which  the  Lord  hath 
promised  to  them  that  love  Him."  God  is  training 
His  people  here  for  a  glorious  immortality.  The 
salvation  already  begun  in  their  hearts,  and  to  be 
consummated  hereafter,  is  a  salvation  from  sin.  The 
more  they  learn  of  the  evil  of  sin,  the  more  will  they 
appreciate  their  deliverance  from  it,  and  the  better  will 
they  be  fitted  for  a  sinless  world.  But  there  is  no 
teacher  like  experience.  And  they  are  left,  therefore, 
to  drink  for  awhile  of  these  bitter  waters,  that  they 
may  drink  with  a  higher  zest  of  the  water  of  the  river 
of  life. 

It  would  be  easy  to  pursue  this  train  of  thought, 
and  point  out  numerous  ways  in  which  the  present 
state  of  things  is  precisely  adapted  to  that  spiritual 
discipline  of  which  we  stand  in  need.  But  I  must 
not  exhaust  your  patience. 

We  have  taken  a  cursory  survey  of  the  anomalies 
and  discordancies  which  mark  the  established  order 
of  things  in  the  world.  In  reference  to  the  doubts 
and  difficulties  of  which  these  are  so  prolific,  it  has 


8o  The  Mystery  of  Providence. 

been  shown  that  all  these  inequalities  are  really  parts 
of  God's  ways ;  that  they  pertain  to  a  fixed  plan 
which  He  is  carrying  forward,  and  to  which  they  are, 
every  one  of  them,  essential ;  that  being  only  "  parts" 
of  His  ways,  no  inferences  should  be  drawn  from 
them  as  if  they  were  the  whole  of  His  ways, — the 
reasonable  presumption  being  that  everything  will 
be  explained  hereafter ;  that,  notwithstanding  the 
veil  of  mystery  which  enwraps  this  dispensation,  it 
is  quite  apparent  that  it  owes  its  peculiarities  to  our 
moral  character ;  and  that,  as  among  the  ends  to  be 
accomplished  by  it,  God  designs,  by  these  inscrutable 
arrangements,  to  manifest  His  own  estimate  of  the 
enormity  of  sin,  and  also  to  provide  for  us  a  course 
of  moral  discipline  which  shall  gradually  fit  us  for 
heaven. 

Considerations  like  these  may,  possibly,  do  some- 
thing to  relieve  the  obscurity  which  rests  upon  our 
condition,  and  even  to  make  us  patient  and  cheerful 
in  treading  the  chequered  path  which  leads  from  a 
fallen  to  an  unfallen  world.  Assuredly  if  it  was  re- 
quired of  the  Son  of  God  that  He  should  wear  a 
crown  of  thorns  before  wearing  a  crown  of  glory,  it 
is  not  for  us  to  complain  that  the  road  which  con- 
ducts us  to  our  crown  has  its  thorns  also  :  especially 
when  we  must  add,  with  the  penitent  malefactor, — 
"And  we  indeed  justly,  for  we  receive  the  due  reward 
of  our  deeds ;  but  this  Man  hath  done  nothing  amiss." 


The  Mystery  of  Providence. 


Besides,  our  trials  come  in  mercy.  "  Whom  the 
Lord  loveth,  He  chasteneth."  The  painful  mysteries 
of  our  lot,  our  losses,  our  changes,  our  conflicts, — 
what  are  they  but  the  assayer's  fire,  to  consume  the 
dross  and  refine  the  gold  ?  He  afflicts,  not  willingly, 
but  because  He  is  a  Father;  and,  as  a  Father,  whom 
He  chastens.  He  will  gloriously  reward. 

"  For  God  has  marked  each  sorrowing  day, 
And  number'd  every  secret  tear; 
And  heaven's  long  age  of  bliss  shall  pay 
For  all  His  children  suffer  here." 

A  single  thought  more  and  I  have  done.  There 
are  mysteries  here.  Life,  I  repeat,  is  a  riddle  which 
no  wit  of  man  can  solve.  It  must  needs  be  so  where 
we  see  but  "  parts  of  His  ways."  But  all  is  not 
dark.  There  are  some  things  so  plain  that  a  child 
can  see  and  understand  them.  And,  happily  for  us, 
these  are  the  matters  which  most  deeply  concern  us. 
Whatever  else  may  be  dark,  there  is  one  path  trav- 
ersing the  earth  which  shines  with  an  unquenchable 
brightness.  The  sun  which  illumines  it  never  sets ; 
and  they  who  do  not  see  it  must  shut  their  eyes.  It 
is  the  "  narrow  way"  to  the  celestial  city.  And  the 
great  lesson  of  our  subject  for  us  all,  and  especially 
for  the  unconverted,  is,  not  to  allow  the  study  of  what 
is  obscure  in  our  lot  to  make  us  unmindful  of  what 
is  plain.     What  surpassing  folly  is  it  for  men  to  waste 


82  The  Mystery  of  Providence. 

their  lives  in  cavilling  at  the  Divine  dispensations,  or 
in  fruitless  efforts  to  unravel  the  web  of  Providence, 
while  \\\QAX salvation  is  uncared  for!  These  mysteries 
may  be  studied  hereafter.  It  will  no  doubt  be  one 
of  the  employments  and  privileges  of  the  ransomed, 
to  see  this  whole  probationary  system  relieved  of  the 
difficulties  which  are  now,  to  our  feeble  minds,  so 
intractable,  and  every  enigma  of  the  present  econ- 
omy, even  the  most  intricate,  satisfactorily  cleared 
up.  But  while  those  questions  may  be  postponed, 
the  other  cannot  be.  The  salvation  or  perdition  of 
the  soul  is  a  question  of  time,  not  of  eternity.  And 
yet  eternity  hangs  upon  it !  Cease,  then,  from  use- 
less, if  I  must  not  say  irreverent,  complaints  against 
the  appointments  of  Him  whose  "  way  is  in  the  sea." 
Leave  the  things  so  hard  to  be  understood,  where  He 
has  left  them.  Enough  to  know  that  we  are  lost  in 
the  first  Adam,  and  may  be  saved  in  the  second : 
that  where  sin  abounded,  grace  doth  much  more 
abound :  and  that  Christ  Jesus  came  into  the  world 
to  save  sinners,  even  the  chief  Come  in  penitence 
and  faith  to  Him,  and  He  will  not  cast  you  out. 


THE   CHURCH:    UNITY   IN    DIVERSITY; 
DIVERSITY  IN   UNITY. 


I.  Corinthians  xii.  12. 


"  For  as  the  body  is  one,  and  hath  viany  members, 
and  all  the  members  of  that  one  body,  being  many, 
are  one  body :  so  also  is  Christy 

The  apostle's  discourse  is  of  spiritual  gifts.  These 
were  largely  distributed  among  the  Christians  of 
Corinth, — too  largely,  it  would  seem,  for  the  grace 
that  went  along  with  them.  For  they  all  desired 
certain  gifts  in  preference  to  others  ;  coveting  those 
of  a  conspicuous  or  imposing  character,  and  dispar- 
aging such  as  came  in  a  more  modest  guise.  It  is 
humiliating  to  think  that  a  church  founded  by  apos- 
tolic hands  should,  even  in  its  infancy,  become  in- 
volved in  a  controversy  of  this  sort.  It  only  shows 
that  the  human  nature  which  the  apostles  had  to 
deal  with,  was  the  same  nature  that  so  constantly 
tried  the  Divine  patience  under  the  ancient  Economy, 
and  which  works  for  evil  in  our  own  hearts  and  in 
all  around  us.     This  root  of  bitterness  wrought  great 

83 


84         The  Church:  Unity  in  Diversity. 


mischief  there.  St.  Paul  feels  himself  obliged  to 
treat  of  it  in  a  very  grave  and  formal  way.  His 
argument  is  this.  There  are  diversities  of  gifts, — as 
the  word  of  wisdom,  the  word  of  knowledge,  the 
gifts  of  healing,  miracles,  prophecy,  discovering  of 
spirits,  tongues,  the  interpretation  of  tongues,  and 
the  like.  But  these  all  proceed  from  the  same  sov- 
ereign and  gracious  Spirit.  He  confers  them,  and 
they  are  conferred  for  a  common  end ;  not  for  the 
honor  of  the  several  recipients,  but  for  the  edification 
of  believers  and  the  welfare  of  the  whole  Church. 
The  variety  they  embrace  is  essential  to  the  work 
to  be  done, — essential  to  the  completeness  of  the 
Church, — precisely  as  various  members  are  neces- 
sary to  constitute  the  body.  This  comparison  he 
carries  out  into  details,  showing  how  absurd  it 
would  be  for  the  foot  to  complain  that  it  is  not  the 
hand,  or  the  ear  that  it  is  not  the  eye;  and  applying 
this  principle  to  the  organization  of  the  Church  : 
"  For  as  the  body  is  one,  and  hath  many  members, 
and  all  the  members  of  that  one  body,  being  many, 
are  one  body  :  so  also  is  Christ  {i.e.,  the  Church,  the 
body  of  Christ).  For  by  one  Spirit  are  we  all  bap- 
tized into  one  body,  whether  we  be  Jews  or  Gentiles, 
whether  we  be  bond  or  free ;  and  have  been  all 
made  to  drink  into  one  Spirit." 

The  diversity  in  unity  here  affirmed  by  the  apostle 
of  the  gifts  communicated  to  the  early  Church,  per- 


The  Church  :  Diversity  in  Unity.         8  5 

tains  to  the  Church  in  its  entire  structure.  It  is,  in 
fact,  the  law  of  its  composition, — an  identity  of  char- 
acter and  experience,  combined  with  an  endless  diver- 
sity in  the  details.  Analogy  would  predispose  us  to 
expect  this,  for  the  same  principle  pervades  the  king- 
dom of  nature.  Everywhere,  in  looking  abroad,  we 
behold  variety.  One  star  differs  from  another  star  in 
glory.  Each  zone  not  only,  but  each  country,  has 
its  own  Flora.  A  single  forest  may  contain  twenty 
different  species  of  trees,  and  a  single  garden  a  hun- 
dred species  of  shrubs  and  flowers.  No  two  trees 
even  of  the  same  species  are  alike.  No  two  flowers 
are  so  identical  in  shape,  color,  and  structure  that  a 
powerful  magnifier  would  not  reveal  some  points  of 
difference.  The  woods  have  their  distinctive  quali- 
ties of  hardness,  hue,  weight,  strength,  and  elasticity. 
The  grasses  with  which  nature  has  carpeted  the 
earth  differ  as  much  as  the  artificial  fabrics  with 
which  we  cover  our  floors.  So,  also,  in  the  animal 
world,  every  beast  and  bird,  every  reptile,  and  fish, 
and  insect,  has,  with  its  proper  nature,  attributes 
which  distinguish  it  from  the  rest  of  its  own  tribe. 
Yet  with  all  this  diversity,  there  is  a  principle  of 
unity  running  through  the  several  departments  of 
nature,  which  not  only  separates  each  department 
from  the  others,  but  combines  the  individuals  of  each 
genus,  and  again  of  each  species,  into  a  uniform  and 
consistent  whole.     We   need  not  pursue  this  topic. 


86  The  Church:  Unity  in  Diversity 


It  will  be  enough  to  have  hinted  at  the  fundamental 
law  which  underlies  the  Creator's  work  throughout 
the  world  of  nature,  as  preparing  the  mind  for  the 
prevalence  of  the  same  law  in  the  kingdom  of  grace. 

The  most  palpable  exemplification  of  this  law  is 
that  which  is  offered  by  the  diverse  outward  forms  in 
which  the  Church  exists. 

This  is  not  suggested  as  the  idea,  or  as  any  part 
of  the  idea,  set  forth  in  the  text  and  context.  It  is 
not  the  visible  Church  which  the  apostle  afifirms  to  be 
one;  but  the  true  Church, — the  Church  made  up  of 
the  regenerated  and  saved,  who  are  confined  to  no 
one  communion,  and  are  known  to  God  alone.  But 
it  is  not  without  its  significance  that  He  has  per- 
mitted the  visible  Church  to  be  cast  in  many  separate 
moulds.  He  might  have  prescribed  a  polity  with 
such  distinctness,  and  enjoined  it  in  such  terms  of 
authority,  that  all  churches  would  have  conformed 
to  it.  But  He  saw  fit  so  to  frame  His  instructions 
on  this  subject  as  to  leave  room  for  a  diversity  of 
interpretation.  We  do  not  doubt  that  our  own  gov- 
ernment and  worship  are  in  harmony  with  the  forms 
which  prevailed  in  the  apostolic  age.  Our  brethren 
who  differ  from  us,  on  the  one  hand  in  the  direction 
of  Independency,  and  on  the  other  in  the  direction 
of  Prelacy,  have  a  similar  conviction  in  respect  to 
their  forms.  May  we  not  reasonably  infer  that  it 
was  the  will  of  God  to  allow  a  certain  variety  in  the 


The  Church:  Diversity  in  Unity.         Z"] 

outward  things  of  religion,  as  being  suited  to  that 
variety  of  taste  and  disposition  with  which  He  has 
endowed  men  ?  The  fact  is  indisputable,  that  to  one 
class  of  minds  this  form  of  worship  is  the  more  edi- 
fying; to  another,  that.  And  while  we  cannot  be- 
lieve that  all  forms  are  equally  scriptural,  it  will  lay 
no  great  strain  upon  our  charity  to  concede  that 
God  may  have  His  own  children  in  each  of  these 
communions  so  widely  separated  by  their  denomina- 
tional lines.  In  this  view  we  may  refer  to  the  visi- 
ble Church  as  illustrating  the  principle  of  diversity 
in  unity. 

The  principle,  however,  finds  its  legitimate  sphere 
within  the  brotherhood  of  real  believers.  This 
phrase,  in  fact,  defines  the  sense  in  which  they  are 
affirmed  to  be  one;  they  are  "real  believers:"  this 
makes  them  one.  So  the  apostle  teaches  in  the 
passage  before  us:  The  body  of  Christ  (the  Church) 
is  one:  ^' for  (v.  13)  by  one  Spirit  are  we  all  baptized 
into  one  body,  whether  we  be  Jews  or  Gentiles, 
whether  we  be  bond  or  free."  It  is  through  the 
anointing  of  the  Spirit  men  are  born  again,  and  so 
engrafted  into  Christ  as  to  become  members  of  His 
body.  This  is  the  communicating  of  a  new  nature 
which  makes  them  one,  as  really  as  the  natural 
birth,  the  possession  of  a  common  humanity,  makes 
them  one.  External  diversities  are  of  no  conse- 
quence in  either  case.     The  child  of  the  hovel,  the 


88  The  Chu7'ch  :  Unity  in  Diversity. 


wigwam,  the  palace,  it  matters  not  where  or  when 
he  is  born,  he  inherits  the  common  nature  and 
belongs  to  the  race.  So  with  the  new  birth.  It 
merges  all  outward  distinctions.  "  Whether  we  be 
Jews  or  Gentiles :"  which  is  equivalent  to  saying, 
"Whether  we  have  been  worshippers  of  the  true 
God  or  benighted  idolaters :"  here  are  the  two 
extremes  of  the  religious  scale.  "  Whether  we  be 
bond  or  free,"  masters  or  servants:  here,  especially 
under  the  rigors  of  Roman  bondage,  are  the  two 
social  extremes.  He  means,  then,  that  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  cross,  no  earthly  distinctions  are  recog- 
nized:  that  the  baptism  of  the  Spirit  so  far  levels 
separating  barriers  of  every  kind,  as  to  combine  all 
who  receive  it  in  a  sacred  and  indissoluble  unity. 

This  unity  includes  a  covunon  Head.  "  Christ  is 
the  Head  of  the  Church."  Union  with  Christ  is  in- 
dispensable. Being  "  in  Christ"  is  the  familiar  New 
Testament  phrase  for  designating  a  true  Christian. 

It  denotes,  further,  a  oneness  of  fait] i.  Diversities 
of  belief  there  certainly  are  among  real  believers. 
Aside  from  minor  and  local  peculiarities,  two  great 
systems  divide  the  Christian  world.  But  Calvinism 
and  Arminianism  are  not  as  light  and  darkness  to 
each  other.  The  points  where  they  coalesce  are 
numerous  and  important.  As  philosophies,  they 
are  thoroughly  discordant.  But  they  meet  and  bow 
together  in  lowly  reverence  before  the  cross.     They 


The  Church  :  Diversity  in  Unity.         89 

alike  recognize  the  work  of  the  Divine  Spirit.  They 
ascribe  salvation  to  the  mercy  and  grace  of  God. 
All  Christians  concur  in  the  necessity  of  "repentance 
toward  God  and  faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,"  in 
disclaiming  all  merit  of  their  own,  and  in  acknowl- 
edging the  authority  of  the  moral  law  as  a  rule  of 
life.  We  claim  for  them,  therefore,  that  they  are  of 
"  one  faith." 

They  are  also  of  one  purpose.  The  various  mem- 
bers of  the  body,  controlled  by  a  single  will,  work 
together  for  the  same  ends.  The  members  of 
Christ's  mystical  body  have  a  common  aim.  They 
regard  the  care  of  the  soul  as  the  one  thing  needful. 
They  make  it  their  concern  to  follow  Christ;  to 
obey  His  precepts  ;  to  seek  His  honor  and  glory ;  to 
aid  in  building  up  His  kingdom.  That  the  service 
they  render  Him  is  precarious  and  inconstant,  and 
that  their  best  duties  are  defiled  with  sin,  must  be 
freely  admitted.  But  we  may,  nevertheless,  ijisist 
that  they  are  one  in  purpose  and  endeavor;  one  in 
striving  to  live  unto  Him  who  loved  them. 

They  are  united,  too,  by  the  bonds  of  a  mutuat 
sympatJiy.  In  the  human  body,  if  one  member  suf- 
fers, all  suffer;  if  one  rejoices,  all  rejoice.  We  con- 
cede the  comparative  feebleness  of  this  principle  in 
the  Church  of  our  day  :  it  is  not  what  it  should  be. 
But  it  exists.  The  solicitude  of  every  real  Christian 
(and  of  such  alone  are  we  speaking)  is  for  the  cause 


90  The  Church  :  Unity  in  Diversity. 


of  Christ.  He  rejoices  in  every  triumph  of  the  Gos- 
pel. He  mourns  over  every  disaster  to  the  cause  of 
true  religion.  He  recognizes  those  who  love  his 
Master  as  brethren.  He  hails  them  as  co-workers. 
He  delights  in  their  well-being.  He  would  gladly 
alleviate  their  sorrows.  The  tie  which  unites  him 
to  them  is  stronger  than  any  earthly  bond.  We  may 
justly  affirm,  then,  that  they  are  one  in  sympathy. 

Not  to  specify  other  points  of  identity,  the  unity 
of  Christians  comprehends,  with  a  common  Head,  a 
oneness  of  faith,  of  purpose,  and  of  sympathy. 

But  this  unity  is  not  monotony.  The  Church  is 
one.  But  it  is  one  as  the  body  is  one;  as  the  animal 
kingdom  is  one ;  the  vegetable ;  the  mineral ;  the 
whole  realm  of  nature.  The  formula  of  definition 
in  all  these  cases  is,  Unity  in  diversity,  and  diver- 
sity IN  UNITY. 

The  Christian  Church  began  in  this  way,  and 
began  gloriously.  The  Day  of  Pentecost  supplied 
the  mould  in  which  it  was  to  be  cast.  "  Parthians 
and  Medes,  and  Elamites,  and  the  dwellers  in  Meso- 
potamia, and  in  Judea,  and  Cappadocia,  in  Pontus, 
and  Asia,  Phrygia,  and  Pamphylia,  in  Egypt,  and  in 
the  parts  of  Libya  about  Cyrene,  and  strangers  of 
Rome,  Jews  and  proselytes,  Cretes  and  Arabians." 
What  an  assemblage  was  this !  A  Congress  of  all 
nations,  convened  as  it  were  on  purpose  to  supply  a 
perfect  type  of  that  universal  Church  whicli  was  now 


The  CJut-rcJi  :  Diversity  in  Unity.         9 1 

to  supersede  the  narrow  courts  of  the  Levitical  tem- 
ple. Henceforth  there  could  be  no  question  as  to 
the  import  of  that  Divine  commission,  "  Go  ye  into 
all  the  world,  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  crea- 
ture ;"  no  misgiving  as  to  the  races  that  were  to  find 
a  place  in  the  Church.  And  as  it  set  out,  so  it  has 
continued.  Contemning  all  distinctions  of  climate, 
empire,  language,  and  religion,  the  Church  has  gone 
on,  gathering  into  its  ample  fold  people  of  all  lands 
and  tongues  and  faiths ;  cementing  them  into  one 
harmonious  whole  ;  and  that,  without  disturbing  the 
elements  which  mark  their  several  nationalities.  We 
can  imagine  a  scene  which  would  surpass  even  the 
Day  of  Pentecost  in  presenting  this  truth  as  a  sub- 
lime and  beneficent  reality.  For  we  can  picture  to 
ourselves  a  communion-season  at  one  of  the  great 
centres  of  the  world,  which  should  bring  together 
around  the  table  of  their  common  Lord,  representa- 
tives of  all  the  evangelical  denominations  of  the 
globe ;  where  there  should  sit  down  together  disci- 
ples of  the  various  European  and  American  Churches, 
with  converts  of  all  lands,  Jews,  Chinese,  Hindoos, 
Burmese,  Siamese,  Turks,  Greeks,  Nestorians,  Arme- 
nians, Africans  of  a  score  or  two  of  tribes,  Indians 
of  our  forests,  Greenlanders,  Esquimaux,  Tahitians, 
Feejees,  and  the  like.  Nothing  could  exceed  the 
disparities  and  contrasts  which  such  an  assemblage 
would  present  in  form  and  feature  and  complexion, 


92  The  Church  :  Unity  in  Diversity. 


in  dress  and  manners,  in  language  and  culture.  Yet 
would  the  sacred  symbols  convey  to  their  minds 
the  same  meaning,  and  awaken  kindred  emotions  in 
every  breast.  And  were  the  service  administered 
by  one  capable  of  speaking  their  different  tongues, 
he  might  utter  precisely  the  same  sentiments  in  ad- 
dressing them,  and  all  hearts  would  respond  with  the 
same  feelings  of  penitence,  trust,  and  grateful  praise 
to  God,  and  of  mutual  love  to  one  another.  The 
world  may  yet  witness  this  august  and  beautiful 
demonstration  of  the  multiform-unity  of  the  Church: 
and  if  qarth  does  not  see  it,  heaven  will. 

But  we  may  see  this  diversity  in  unity  without 
convening  the  Church  Ecumenical.  It  is  the  law  of 
the  kingdom  everywhere.  In  the  apostolic  age,  the 
household  of  faith  comprised  persons  of  every  rank 
and  occupation.  Not  many  mighty  and  noble  were 
called,  but  some  were :  and  the  poor  were  there 
in  abundance.  The  wayside  beggars,  the  despised 
lepers,  the  fishermen  of  Tiberias,  the  "  honorable 
women,"  and  "  Caesar's  household,"  were  all  repre- 
sented. There  were  gifts  and  graces  of  every  sort 
and  degree.  The  knowledge  we  have  of  the  apos- 
tolic college,  though  very  imperfect  as  to  the  major 
part  of  them,  warrants  the  conclusion  that  no  two  of 
these  twelve  men  were  alike;  each  one  having  his 
strongly-marked  individual  traits.  And  this  variety 
has  been  perpetuated.     The  ministry  has  never  been 


The  Church  :  Diversity  in  Unity.         93 

without  its  Johns  and  Pauls,  its  Thomases  and 
Peters,  its  sons  of  thunder  and  its  sons  of  consola- 
tion. You  have  but  to  reflect  for  a  moment,  and 
you  will  be  able  to  call  up  a  whole  gallery  of  por- 
traits from  the  annals  of  the  modern  Church  as  di- 
verse as  were  the  original  preachers.  Let  me  name 
Baxter,  Owen,  Bunyan,  Jeremy  Taylor,  Bishop  Hall, 
the  Wesleys,  the  Erskines,  Romaine,  President  Ed- 
wards, Whitefield,  Dwight,  Robert  Hall,  Chalmers, 
Davies,  Mason,  the  Alexanders.  What  a  galaxy  is 
this  !  Every  star  is  brilliant ;  but  no  two  shine  with 
the  same  lustre ;  the  same  indeed  in  one  sense,  for 
the  light  they  reflect  is  from  the  same  Sun  : — herein 
is  the  unity.  But  it  varies  in  hue  and  measure  and 
velocity :  herein  is  the  diversity. 

And  as  with  the  ministry  so  with  the  people.  To 
delineate  the  variety  which  pertains  to  the  many 
members  of  the  one  spiritual  body  would  be  to  de- 
scribe the  numerous  sorts  of  people  aggregated  in  a 
community.  For  the  Church  recruits  itself  indiffer- 
ently from  the  vast  outlying  masses  of  humanity. 
It  appropriates  to  itself  all  ages,  sexes,  and  condi- 
tions. Its  merciful  conscription  lays  hold  upon  the 
rich  and  the  poor,  the  humble  and  the  proud,  the 
sedate  and  the  ardent,  the  resolute  and  the  gentle, 
the  learned  and  the  illiterate,  the  dissolute  and  the 
moral.  Baptizing  them  into  Christ,  it  makes  them 
all  one  body ;  and  yet  without  destroying  or  even 


94  The  Church :  Unity  in  Diversity. 

impairing  their  individuality.  Of  course  the  training 
to  which  it  subjects  them  demands  the  lopping  ofif 
of  excrescences  and  the  healing  of  disorders  which, 
neglected,  would  consume  the  life.  But  within  the 
wise  and  wide  limitations  prescribed  by  the  Divine 
Husbandman,  it  allows  all  the  trees  and  shrubs  trans- 
planted into  its  enclosure  to  follow  out  each  the  law 
of  its  own  growth.  The  pine  is  not  expected  to  be- 
come an  oak  ;  nor  the  orange  a  vine;  nor  the  violet 
a  rose.  All  the  requisition  is  that  the  pine  shall  be 
a  thrifty  pine  and  the  oak  a  thrifty  oak;  and  that  the 
orange  and  the  vine,  the  violet  and  the  rose,  and  every 
other  tree,  and  herb,  and  flower,  shall  grow  up  towards 
perfection,  and  thus  fulfil  the  end  of  its  own  being. 

This  rule  is  observed  even  in  respect  to  the  methods 
by  which  the  dead  branches  are  engrafted  into  the 
True  Vine  and  made  alive.  It  is  the  prerogative  of 
the  one  Almighty  Spirit  to  effect  this ;  here  is  the 
unity.  But  He  does  it  in  a  great  variety  of  modes  ; 
here  is  the  diversity.  To  be  born  of  the  Spirit  is  in- 
dispensable. To  be  renewed  in  precisely  this  or  that 
way  is  not  essential.  Conversion  varies  indefinitely 
in  its  times,  means,  antecedents,  and  consequents. 
God  is  a  Sovereign  here,  as  in  all  His  other  works. 
And  He  displays  the  same  diversity  of  operations 
here  as  throughout  the  wide  range  of  creative  nature. 
As  if  to  rebuke  the  attempt — which  has,  neverthe- 
less, been    so   often    made — to    shut  Him    up  to  a 


The  Church:  Diversity  in  Unity.         95 

single  inflexible  method  of  bringing  sinners  out  of 
darkness  into  His  marvellous  light,  the  variety  which 
marks  the  cases  of  conversion  recorded  in  Scripture 
is  scarcely  less  signal  than  the  conversions  them- 
selves. Without  stopping  to  comment  on  so  familiar 
a  theme,  let  it  suffice  to  refer  to  the  examples  of  Levi 
the  publican,  Zacchaeus,  the  thief  on  the  cross,  Saul 
of  Tarsus,  Lydia,  and  the  jailer  of  Philippi.  And 
from  that  day  to  this.  He  has  continued  to  exert  His 
renewing  grace  with  the  same  sovereign  right  of 
choice  in  respect  to  occasions  and  instruments,  the 
measure  and  duration  of  conviction,  and  all  the  in- 
cidents pertaining  to  this  mightiest  of  changes  in  the 
character  and  condition  of  men. 

Nor  in  conversion  only.  He  carries  the  same 
variety  of  modes  and  means  into  the  culture  and 
development  of  the  immortal  germ  deposited  in  re- 
generation. The  efficiency  in  all  instances  is  His 
own.  And  the  one  agency  He  has  Himself  pre- 
scribed, is  His  word.  But  who  can  describe  the 
paths  along  which  He  leads  His  people,  and  the 
endless  combinations  of  providential  and  gracious 
influences  by  which  He  conducts  them  step  by  step 
up  the  acclivities  of  the  higher  life,  and  fashions 
them  to  the  "  likeness  of  the  heavenly"  ?  Who  can 
portray  the  opulent  diversity  of  gifts,  intellectual  and 
spiritual,  with  which  He  endows  them  ;  to  one,  five 
talents;  to  another,  two ;  to  another,  one, — dividing  to 


96         The  Church:  Unity  in  Diversity. 


every  man  severally  as  He  will  ?  The  fact  is  patent 
to  every  one.  Let  us  advert  to  a  few  of  the  more 
important  aspects  in  which  it  offers  itself  to  our  con- 
templation. It  will  not  be  difficult  to  show  that  this 
Divine  law  of  diversity  in  unity  is  as  essential  to 
the  proper  perfection  of  the  Church  as  it  is  morally 
beautiful. 

I.  Let  me  begin  with  this  latter  thought,  tJic  moral 
beauty  of  this  arrangement.  This  is  not  a  thing  to 
be  argued.  Beauty  is  a  matter  not  of  logic,  but  of 
feeling.  Its  appeal  is  to  a  constitutional  suscepti- 
bility. And  it  is  a  part  of  our  constitution  to  crave 
variety.  We  do  not  want  a  painting  to  be  all  of  one 
color,  nor  a  tune  of  one  strain.  The  ocean  would 
pall  upon  us  if  it  were  always  still  or  always  boister- 
ous. Who  would  ever  lift  his  eyes  to  the  heavens 
if  the  sky  shone  with  a  perpetual  serenity?  As 
children,  we  want  new  toys.  And  as  grown  chil- 
dren (for  we  are  nothing  more),  we  tire  if  we  have  to 
look  continually  upon  the  same  objects.  It  is  a  relief 
even  to  re-arrange  the  books  on  your  shelves  and  the 
furniture  of  your  room  ;  to  put  the  old  articles  into 
new  positions.  We  grow  weary  of  looking  day  by 
day  at  the  same  people  in  the  same  situation,  unless 
they  are  our  intimate  friends.  And  as  to  our  friends, 
we  would  not  have  them  all  alike  if  we  could.  It  is 
one  of  the  charms  of  the  domestic  state,  the  variety 
tliere  is  in  families.     We  cannot  only  bear,  but  en- 


The  Church :  Diversity  in  Unity.         97 

joy,  what  is  termed  a  "family  resemblance"  in  a 
household.  But  who  could  endure  a  family  that 
■looked  exactly  alike?  Much  more,  a  family  that 
were  exactly  alike  in  voice  and  manner,  in  tone  and 
temper,  in  sentiment  and  character  ? 

He  who  made  man  made  the  Church ;  and  of 
course  adapted  it  to  this  as  well  as  to  every  other 
part  of  his  nature.  No  one  can  complain  of  the 
New  Testament  as  a  monotonous  book ;  nor  feel 
that  when  he  has  seen  one  of  its  personages  he  has 
seen  all.  They  pass  and  repass  before  us  with  that 
variety  of  character  and  experience  which  pertains  to 
the  actors  in  other  histories.  The  same  diversity 
attaches  to  the  several  religious  denominations,  and, 
generally  speaking,  to  every  Church.  There  is  no 
Christian  here  who  has  not  something  peculiar  to 
himself;  something  by  which  he  is  distinguished 
from  his  brethren.  And  if  you  would  learn  how 
copious  is  this  variety,  you  must  take  the  records 
of  the  Church  and  call  over  the  names  which  make 
up  the  entire  enrolment.  There  is  certainly  a  "  fam- 
ily resemblance,"  for  they  are  children  of  one  Father; 
and  unless  they  bear  some  of  the  lineaments  of  His 
image,  they  are  not  really  of  the  household.  But 
beyond  this,  how  unlike  they  are  in  their  worldly 
circumstances  and  occupations,  in  disposition,  in  in- 
tellectual endowments,  in  their  social  qualities,  in 
their   graces,   in   their   modes   and   measures   of  re- 

9 


98  The  Church :  Unity  in  Diversity. 


ligious  activity !  We  may  lament  the  errors  and 
infirmities  which  cleave  to  them.  We  may  wish 
that  some  were  different  from  what  they  are.  But 
every  one  would  sooner  take  such  a  society  as  it  is 
than  have  all  its  members  recast  in  the  same  metallic 
mould.  We  love  the  Church  all  the  more  because 
its  unity,  like  that  of  a  garden,  effloresces  in  a  grate- 
ful variety  of  fruits  and  flowers. 

2.  The  principle  of  diversity  in  unity  upon  which 
the  Church  is  constructed  illustrates  the  poivcr  and 
efficacy  of  Divine  grace. 

The  palpable  fact  which  meets  the  eye  is,  that 
while  grace  is  more  than  a  match  for  depravity  in 
its  worst  forms,  it  renews  and  elevates  all  the  nobler 
traits  of  humanity;  and  in  either  case,  without  dis- 
turbing identity  of  character.  The  Church,  as  al- 
ready observed,  is  recruited  from  every  quarter. 
God  selects  the  objects  of  His  mercy  where  He 
will.  For  the  most  part  they  are  among  the  chil- 
dren of  believers,  the  true  line  of  succession,  but  by 
no  means  confined  to  these.  If  He  sees  fit  to  sum- 
mon to  His  service  a  rich  man  like  Barnabas,  a  vora- 
cious publican  like  Zacchaeus,  a  timid  Pharisee  like 
Nicodemus,  a  malignant  zealot  like  Saul,  a  pagan 
captain  like  the  Centurion,  He  has  but  to  speak  and 
they  must  hear.  He  will  not  be  shut  out  from  any 
spot  of  the  globe  He  has  created,  nor  from  any  hu- 
man heart  that  He  chooses  to  enter.     He  will  follow 


The  Church  :  Diversity  in  Unity.         99 

men  into  the  fastnesses  of  error  and  impiety,  into 
dens  of  iniquity  and  idol-temples,  and  bring  them 
forth  wilHng  converts  to  the  faith  they  once  de- 
stroyed. He  will  take  by  the  hand  the  thoughtful, 
the  refined,  the  affectionate,  the  teachable,  yea,  the 
little  prattlers  who  brighten  our  homes  with  their 
mirth,  and  lead  them  into  His  house  and  adopt 
them  as  His  children.  Classes  constituting  the  op- 
posite extremes  of  society,  and  all  the  intermediate 
classes,  He  clothes  with  a  common  nature,  imbues 
with  the  same  spirit,  enriches  with  kindred  gifts,  and 
makes  them  "  one  in  Christ  Jesus,"  while  they  sev- 
erally retain  their  marked  characteristics.  There  is 
certainly  a  resemblance  among  them  which  there 
was  not  before.  But  there  is  no  such  resemblance 
as  to  expose  a  single  one  to  the  hazard  of  being 
taken  for  any  one  but  himself. 

May  we  not  refer  to  these  facts  as  illustrating  the 
power  and  efficacy  of  Divine  grace  ?  The  problems 
here  so  successfully  resolved  would  turn  to  nought 
all  human  skill  and  energy.  In  man's  hands  these 
various  types  of  character  might  be  bent  or  broken; 
they  could  never  be  renewed.  Changed  they  might 
be,  but  not  changed  without  sad  contortion  or 
'mutilation.  Too  often  has  the  experiment  been 
tried.  Christendom  abounds  with  individuals  and 
fraternities,  male  and  female,  who  show  what  comes 
of  man's  arrogating  his  Maker's  work;  of  attempting 


lOO       The  Church:  Unity  in  Diversity. 

to  make  his  fellows  new  creatures  by  a  complex, 
protracted,  cruel  regimen  of  his  own,  in  place  of  the 
simple  teaching  of  the  word  and  the  transforming 
energy  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  A  wonderful  achieve- 
ment it  is,  as  wonderful  in  power  as  in  love,  that  of 
imbuing  a  whole  community  with  a  new  life,  from 
its  very  nature  pervading,  elevating,  and  controlling, 
and  yet  so  incorporating  it  with  all  the  natural  facul- 
ties and  functions  as  to  aid  their  proper  working 
and  their  true  development.  We  cite  it  as  one  of 
the  fruits  of  that  diversity  in  unity  which  enters 
radically  into  the  constitution  of  the  Church. 

3,  It  is  still  more  to  our  purpose  to  refer  to  the 
wisdom,  perhaps  we  may  say  the  necessity,  of  this 
principle,  in  view  of  the  mission  assigned  to  the 
Church. 

It  is  not  for  man  to  say  that  anything  is  abso- 
lutely necessary  to  God  in  effecting  His  purposes 
which  He  has  not  declared  to  be  so.  But  we  may 
speak  of  the  perfect  adaptation  of  the  principle  we 
are  considering,  to  the  ends  for  which  the  Church 
was  established.  Not  to  name  other  topics,  the 
Church  is  appointed  to  be,  under  God,  the  Teacher 
and  Guide  of  the  world.  Its  business  is  to  dis- 
ciple all  nations.  It  has  to  do  with  people  of 
every  type  and  condition  ;  with  all  the  sins  and  all 
the  sorrows,  all  the  avocations,  all  the  duties,  and 
all  the  hopes,  of  humanity.     Its  field  is  the  world. 


The  Chiu^ch  :  Diversity  in  Unity.        lOi 

It  needs,  therefore,  laborers  of  every  sort  and  every 
variety  of  talent.  With  fewer  gifts  in  kind,  some 
portions  of  its  work  would  be  neglected.  If  it  is  to 
carry  Christianity  through  the  globe,  it  must  have 
men  whose  constitutions  and  training  fit  them  for 
the  various  climates  of  the  earth.  It  must  have  men 
of  iron  nerve  who  can  face  dangers.  It  must  have 
men  of  the  requisite  scholarship  to  grapple  with 
strange  languages  and  preach  to  strange  peoples. 
In  its  home-field  there  is  room  for  the  exercise  of 
every  kind  of  gift.  Witness  the  diversity  in  congre- 
gations ;  the  mission-fields  in  the  cities  and  in  the 
country;  the  benevolent  institutions  to  be  sustained 
and  governed;  schools;  hospitals;  prisons;  armies. 
Witness  the  multitudes  of  the  poor,  the  sick,  the 
sorrowing.  Everywhere  there  are  perishing  sinners 
to  be  sought  out  and  instructed  in  religion.  Every- 
where the  kingdom  of  Christ  is  to  be  aided  in  its 
warfare  with  earth  and  hell. 

A  scheme  so  vast  demands  a  corresponding  variety 
and  affluence  of  talents.  And  this  want  is  provided 
for  in  that  diversity  which,  as  we  have  seen,  enters 
into  the  constituency  of  the  Church.  There  are  min- 
isters of  every  grade  of  culture  and  with  every  kind 
of  gifts.  How,  otherwise,  could  the  ministry  fulfil 
its  design  ?  For  the  people  vary  indefinitely.  No 
one  style  of  preaching  would  suit  them;  no  two 
styles,  nor   three,  nor   six.      One    may  say  that   a 

9* 


1 02        The  Church  :  Unity  in  Diversity. 

preacher  like  President  Edwards  ought  to  be  accept- 
able to  everybody.  Another  may  put  in  the  same 
claim  for  a  Whitefield,  and  a  third  for  a  Mason.  But 
it  would  not  be  so.  Some  would  prefer  one  of  these 
great  preachers  to  the  others  ;  and  some  would  pre- 
fer a  fourth  preacher  to  any  of  them.  It  is  well  that 
every  taste  can  be  gratified. 

And  who  can  survey  the  broad  acres  which  the 
Church  is  cultivating,  without  rejoicing  in  the  com- 
bination of  gifts  employed  in  carrying  forward  the 
work  ?  A  radical  part  of  this  agency  lies  in  the 
silent  power  of  example ;  the  simple  routine  of  a 
quiet  and  upright  life.  He  is  not  a  cipher  in  the 
Church  who  is  conscientiously  discharging  the  duties 
of  his  station,  however  moderate  his  gifts,  and  how- 
ever obscure  his  lot.  Perhaps  there  is  no  one  ele- 
ment so  important  as  this  in  estimating  the  entire 
impression  of  the  Church  upon  the  world.  Then 
there  are  Christians  whose  influence  is  mainly  felt  in 
their  generous  pecuniary  contributions  to  the  cause 
of  Christ.  Others  have  a  gift  for  teaching.  Not  a 
few  are  ready  to  go  forth  and  minister  to  the  sick 
and  the  poor  in  their  homes  and  in  hospitals.  A 
glance  around  the  field  will  detect  many  faithful 
workers  who  belong  to  no  recognized  classes,  but 
are  unobtrusively  doing  their  Lord's  will.  We  need 
not  dwell  upon  details.  The  thought  which  con- 
cerns  us   now  is,  that  this  whole  army  of  workers, 


The  Church :  Diversity  in  Unity.        1 03 

clerical  and  lay,  male  and  female,  is  one  in  faith 
and  purpose,  in  sympathy  and  hope  ;  while  they  are 
many  in  gifts  and  graces,  in  spheres  of  labor,  in 
means  and  methods  of  exertion,  and  in  their  relative 
measures  of  success.  Some  are  breaking  up  the  fallow 
ground.  Some  are  sowing.  Some  are  nurturing  the 
precious  grain.  And  others  reaping  and  gathering 
the  crop.  But  all  are  servants  of  the  Great  Task- 
Master;  all  look  to  Him  for  direction;  and  all  are 
hoping  to  celebrate  the  glorious  Harvest-Home  in 
His  presence.  Thus  needful  is  the  principle  of  di- 
versity in  unity  to  the  full  efficiency  of  the  Church. 
We  have  already  pointed  out  the  moral  beauty  of 
this  arrangement,  and  shown  how  it  illustrates  the 
power  and  efficacy  of  Divine  grace. 

The  unfolding  of  such  a  subject  suggests  the  prac- 
tical lessons  which  grow  out  of  it.  I  will  detain  you 
to  give  expression  to  only  two  or  three  of  these. 

One  is  a  lesson  of  instruction  and  encouragement 
in  respect  to  religious  experience.  We  have  seen  that 
this  is  of  no  uniform  type.  Certain  elements  are  es- 
sential, but  beyond  these  it  partakes  of  a  very  great 
variety.  We  are  not,  then,  to  set  up  this  or  that 
instance  of  conversion,  nor  this  or  that  form  of  the 
Christian  life,  as  the  standard  by  which  all  others 
are  to  be  tested.  God  has  His  own  methods  for 
bringing  men   into   His  kingdom,  and   for  keeping 


I04        The  Church:   Unity  in  Diversity. 

them  when  there.  An  absolute  identity  in  all  ex- 
amples of  supposed  conversion,  as  to  means,  occa- 
sions, and  exercises,  would  not  merely  justify  distrust, 
but  afford  presumptive  proof  that  many  cases  were 
counterfeit.  For  this  would  contravene  the  principle 
of  diversity  in  unity,  which  is  fundamental,  as  to  His 
kingdom  of  nature,  so  also  to  His  kingdom  of  grace. 
The  only  safe  or  authorized  mode  of  trying  our  state 
is  to  come  to  the  law  and  the  testimony. 

2.  As  unity  in  diversity  is  the  law  of  the  Church, 
it  is  the  duty  of  all  its  members  to  cherish  and  pro- 
mote the  spirit  of  unity.  The  apostle  points  out  the 
effect  of  a  schism  among  the  members  of  the  body, 
as  illustrative  of  a  divisive  spirit  among  the  members 
of  the  Church.  The  divisions  among  Christians  have 
always  been  the  opprobrium  of  religion.  They  spring 
from  false  doctrine,  and  from  evil  tempers, — such  as 
pride,  jealousy,  envy,  uncharitableness,  and  the  like. 
To  indulge  these  passions  is  to  breed  discord,  and 
thus  impair  the  unity,  mar  the  beauty,  and  lessen  the 
usefulness  of  the  Church. 

3.  As  diversity  in  unity  is  the  law  of  the  Church, 
let  us  try  to  learn  what  are  our  own  gifts,  and  to  Jill 
each  his  otvn  place. 

If  we  are  in  the  Church  at  all  (I  do  not  mean  in 
the  visible  Church  merely)  we  must  have  some  gift, 
and  there  is  a  place  for  us.  Your  place  is  not  your 
neighbor's,   nor  his   yours.     The    Corinthians    were 


The  Church  :  Diversity  in  Unity.       1 05 

too  ambitious  to  heed  this.  The  apostle  had  to 
argue  the  point  with  them,  which  he  did  at  length. 
He  closes  by  asking,  "  Are  all  apostles  ?  Are  all 
prophets  ?  Are  all  teachers  ?  Are  all  workers  of 
miracles?"  The  very  nature  of  the  Church  forbids 
this.  There  must  be  "  many  members,"  with  their 
several  gifts  and  functions,  or  there  could  be  no 
spiritual  body.  And  it  is  not  a  mere  matter  of  per- 
sonal choice  with  us — our  endowments  and  position. 
There  is  a  higher  agency  here.  "  God  hath  set  the 
members,  every  one  of  them,  in  the  body  (both  the 
spiritual  and  the  natural  body),  as  it  hath  pleased 
Him."  His  aim  in  this  arrangement  is  service ;  and 
that  should  be  ours.  He  brings  us  into  the  Church 
that  we  may  serve  Him,  not  by  doing  another's  work, 
but  our  own. 

To  learn  what  this  is,  we  must  ask  His  teaching  in 
prayer.  We  must  consider  our  situation  and  circum- 
stances. We  must  endeavor  to  find  out  what  gifts 
we  have,  and  how  they  can  be  used  to  the  best  pur- 
pose. The  more  important  spheres  of  religious  ac- 
tivity (for  the  laity),  such  as  charitable  associations, 
teaching,  visiting  the  poor  and  the  sick,  and  con- 
tributing of  one's  substance,  are  too  familiar  to  re- 
quire comment.  But  every  gift  involves  an  obliga- 
tion to  use  it  for  your  Master.  It  may  be  a  facile 
needle.  It  may  be  music.  It  may  be  a  capacity  for 
writing  useful  books.     It  may  be  the  Divine  art  of 


io6        The  Church:   Unity  in  Diversity. 

composing  hymns  of  devotion.  It  may  be  letter- 
writing, — a  beautiful  gift,  which  beguiles  the  suffering 
of  many  a  weary  hour;  and  soothes  the  sorrowing; 
and  animates  the  sweet 

".   .   .   .   fellowship  of  kindred  minds ;" 

and  fortifies  the  tempted  and  wavering  ;  and  quickens 
the  lukewarm;  and  revives  the  desponding;  and 
cheers  the  hearts  that  are  perpetually  sighing, 

"  Nearer,  my  God,  to  Tliee, 
Nearer  to  Thee !" 

Yes,  you  all  have  your  gifts,  and  you  should  feel 
that  it  is  a  high  privilege  to  employ  them  in  the  ser- 
vice of  God,  Should  all  do  this, — all  within  a  single 
fold  even, — with  what  energy  would  it  clothe  the 
Gospel,  and  how  nobly  would  it  illustrate  the  wisdom, 
power,  and  grace  displayed  in  the  structure  of  Christ's 
mystical  body !  Then  only,  when  we  have  attained 
this  standard,  shall  we  be  able  to  appreciate  the  value 
of  that  principle  of  diversity  in  unity  which  is  so 
vital  to  the  symmetry,  the  harmony,  and  the  efficiency 
of  the  Church. 

4.  There  is  one  other  lesson  which  I  would  gladly 
enforce  if  the  time  would  permit,  viz.,  a  lesson  of 
charity  in  judging  of  the  Christianity  of  others. 

It  will  not  do  for  us  to  forget  that  while  the  Church 
is  one,  it  is  also  many.  The  gracious  principle  de- 
velops itself  in  an  endless  variety  of  forms,  and  dwells 


The  Chw^ch:  Diversity  in  Unity.       107 

with  dispositions  and  gifts  of  every  type.  We  are 
not  called  to  exercise  the  same  liking  towards  all 
Christians,  but  let  us  watch  against  capricious  an- 
tipathies. Your  brother  may  have  some  untoward 
traits  and  ways,  but  is  he  not  a  brother  still  ?  Of  the 
ministers  you  happen  to  hear,  you  dismiss  one  as  un- 
suited  to  his  work  because  he  is  "  too  metaphysical"  ; 
and  a  second,  because  he  is  "too  flowery";  a  third, 
because  he  is  "too  quiet";  and  a  fourth,  because  he 
is  "  too  vehement"  ;  and  so  on  to  the  end.  But  you 
greatly  err  if  you  think  it  would  have  been  better  to 
fashion  all  these  preachers  after  your  model.  This 
diversity  of  gifts  is  indispensable  to  the  ministry,  in 
regard  both  to  the  work  to  be  done  and  the  varieties 
of  human  character  to  be  dealt  with.  Each  one  has 
his  vocation.  And  to  brand  them  as  unfit  for  their 
office  may  be  not  only  to  violate  the  charity  of  the 
gospel,  but,  by  implication,  to  reproach  Him  who  saw 
fit  to  organize  the  Church  upon  this  plan.  If  they 
all  cast  out  devils,  why  require  that  they  shall  every 
one  do  it  in  your  way  ? 

The  same  caution  may  be  needed  in  passing  judg- 
ment upon  private  Christians  who  differ  widely  from 
ourselves. — But  I  must  not  trespass  further.  Let  us 
only  look  well  to  our  own  hearts,  and  try  to  do  our 
own  work  faithfully.  So  shall  we  best  help  on  the 
Church  in  its  sublime  mission  and  honor  our  gra- 
cious Lord. 


REDEMPTION,  A  STUDY  TO  THE  ANGELS. 


I.  Peter  i.  12. 


"  Which  things  the  angels  desire  to  look  into." 

"  Which  things  f-'' — we  must  read  the  context  to 
understand  this  allusion.  "Of  which  salvation  the 
prophets  have  inquired  and  searched  diligently,  who 
prophesied  of  the  grace  that  should  come  unto  you : 
searching  what,  or  what  manner  of  time  the  Spirit  of 
Christ  which  was  in  them  did  signify,  when  it  testi- 
fied beforehand  the  sufferings  of  Christ,  and  the  glory 
that  should  follow.  Unto  whom  it  was  revealed, 
that  not  unto  themselves,  but  unto  us  they  did  min- 
ister the  things,  which  are  now  reported  unto  you  by 
them  that  have  preached  the  Gospel  unto  you  with 
the  Holy  Ghost  sent  down  from  heaven ;  which 
things  the  angels  desire  to  look  into."  The  meaning 
is  obvious.  The  things  into  which  the  angels  de- 
sire to  look,  are  the  things  which  formed  the  bur- 
den of  prophetical  and  apostolical  teaching,  to  wit: 
the  "  salvation"  of  men  ;  the  atoning  "  sufferings  of 
Christ,"  and  "  the  glory"  (Gr.,  glories).  His  glory  and 
108 


Redemption,  a  Study  to  the  Angels.     109 

that  of  His  people,  "which  should  follow."  In  sim- 
pler phrase,  the  theme  which  awakens  this  interest 
among  the  angels  is,  Redemption. 

No  commentator  fails  to  notice  the  peculiar  force 
and  beauty  of  the  verb  in  this  sentence.  Our  ver- 
sion has  it,  "  desire  to  look  into."  It  denotes  a 
bending  attitude  with  a  gaze  of  fixed  intensity.  The 
allusion  is  supposed  to  be  to  the  figures  of  the  Cheru- 
bim above  the  mercy-seat  in  the  holy  of  holies,  who 
were  represented  as  bending  downwards  with  their 
eyes  fastened  upon  the  blood-sprinkled  ark,  as  if  try- 
ing to  penetrate  the  great  mystery  it  symbolized,  the 
blending  of  the  law  and  the  Gospel,  the  justice  and  the 
mercy  of  God.  Let  us  dwell  for  a  little  upon  this  in- 
teresting theme,  Redemption,  a  study  to  the  angels. 

It  cannot  but  be  deemed  remarkable  that  we 
should  be  so  isolated  from  the  rest  of  the  universe. 
Here  are  millions  of  orbs  brought  within  the  range 
of  our  vision  by  the  telescope.  We  cannot  doubt 
that  they  are  the  abodes  of  rational  creatures.  The 
ingenious  theory  defended  with  so  much  learning 
and  logic  by  one  of  the  most  accomplished  philoso- 
phers* of  our  day,  which  would  make  our  globe  the 
only  inhabited  world,  has  probably  not  won  a  single 
convert  in  either  hemisphere.  So  natural,  so  univer- 
sal, is  the  conviction  that   t-hese  other  spheres  and 


I'lufcssiir  WlicvvcU. 
10 


no    Redemption^  a  Study  to  the  Angels. 

systems  are  inhabited,  that  it  may  almost  be  classed 
with  the  intuitions  of  tlie  human  mipd:  we  accept  it 
without  argument,  and  we  cling  to  it  in  the  face  of 
argument.  Yet  of  the  races  that  tenant  these  count- 
less worlds  we  know  absolutely  nothing.  One  race 
only  besides  our  own  is  introduced  to  us:  and  of 
that,  the  notices  are  quite  too  meagre  to  satisfy  us. 
We  see  just  enough  of  the  angels  to  wish  to  see  a 
great  deal  more.  We  "  desire  to  look"  into  their 
affairs,  as  they  into  ours.  In  the  absence  of  full  in- 
formation concerning  them,  we  give  scope  to  our 
imaginations,  and  explore,  as  we  best  may,  the  wide 
realm  in  which  they  dwell,  and  their  various  powers 
and  employments, — not  alwajs  with  a  very  accurate 
regard  to  the  hints  the  Scriptures  give  us  of  their 
position  and  functions. 

We  are  on  safe  ground  in  ascribing  to  them  supe- 
rior intelligence  and  ample  knowledge.  But  the 
knowledge  of  a  creature,  whatever  his  rank,  must 
necessarily  be  progressive.  Infinite  knowledge  (in- 
cluding prescience)  pertains  only  to  the  Creator. 
The  angels,  like  ourselves,  must  learn  things  by  the 
event, — excepting  when  God  may  have  been  pleased 
to  reveal  His  purposes  to  them.  We  are  not  to  take 
it  for  granted  that  they  knew,  before  this  world  was 
made,  what  was  to  happen  here.  They  were  already 
in  existence.  They  saw  our  globe  and  the  visible 
heavens  created  :  and,  at  the  sublime  spectacle,  "  the 


Redemption,  a  Study  to  the  Angels.     1 1 1 

morning  stars  sang  together,  and  all  the  sons  of  God 
shouted  for  joy."  But,  except  through  some  special 
revelation,  of  which  we  have  no  hint,  it  was  impos- 
sible they  should  foresee  the  extraordinary  transac- 
tions which  were  to  distinguish  this  orb  from  all 
the  others  scattered  through  the  wide  fields  of  space. 
From  the  very  first,  however,  the  Divine  procedure 
on  this  planet  would  arrest  their  attention.  The 
Garden  of  Eden,  Adam  and  Eve,  the  trees  of  life 
and  of  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil,  the  myste- 
rious prohibition,  and  the  penalty  annexed, — what 
could  all  this  mean  ?  Still  more,  how  would  it  as- 
tonish them  to  witness  the  temptation.  They  had 
seen  Satan  and  his  fellow-apostates  cast  down  to  hell : 
and  yet  he  is  now  permitted  to  come  to  this  new-born 
world,  fresh  from  its  Maker's  hand,  to  enter  this 
blooming  garden,  and  to  appropriate  one  of  the 
lower  animals  to  the  atrocious  purpose  of  seducing 
the  happy  pair  from  their  allegiance.  Nay,  he  not 
only  assails  but  actually  overthrows  their  virtue.  Is 
it  fanciful  to  imagine  that  this  event  would  fill  the 
angels  with  amazement?  that  they  would  say  one  to 
another,  "How  can  these  things  be?  Is  not  sin 
that  abominable  thing  which  our  holy  and  righteous 
Lord  hates  with  a  perfect  hatred  ?  Has  He  not 
testified  His  reprobation  of  it  by  the  awful  but  just 
doom  visited  upon  our  compeers  who  fell?  How, 
then,  should  He  allow  this  pair  to  fall  a  prey  to  the 


1 1 2     Redemption,  a  Study  to  the  Angels. 


wiles  of  Satan?  Why  should  lie  create  another 
world  if  it  was  so  soon  to  be  handed  over  to  the 
sway  of  His  arch-adversary, — even  though  He  may 
presently  consign  Adam  and  Eve  to  the  same  dismal 
fate  with  the  tempter  and  his  hosts?" 

Filled  with  surmisings  like  these,  the  angels  would 
"  desire  to  look  into"  the  strange  opening  chapter 
of  our  history.  But  something  no  less  inexplicable 
would  now  inflame  their  curiosity.  They  had  heard 
the  threatening,  "  In  the  day  thou  eatest  thereof  thou 
shalt  surely  die."  It  came  from  lips  which  could  not 
lie.  It  was  but  the  inevitable  penalty  of  His  law. 
Once  before  it  had  been  broken,  and  instantly  the 
penalty  took  effect.  And  yet  Adam  and  Eve  do  not 
"die," — i.e.,  they  do  not,  on  their  transgression,  "  re- 
turn to  the  dust,"  nor  are  they  banished  into  outer 
darknes.s.  Cast  off  they  are  from  the  favor  of  God  ; 
driven  from  Eden;  made  to  feel  that  they  are  ruined; 
but  they  still  live  on.  And,  wonderful  to  relate,  in- 
stead of  a  sentence  of  absolute  and  interminable  de- 
struction, there  gleams  upon  them  from  out  the  com- 
mingled horrors  of  that  memorable  day,  a  trembling 
ray  of  hope.  To  the  serpent  God  said  :  "  I  will  put 
enmity  between  thee  and  the  woman,  and  between 
thy  seed  and  her  seed  ;  it  shall  bruise  th)'  head,  and 
thou  shalt  bruise  his  heel."  The  angels  hear  this. 
Can  words  express  how  much  they  would  desire  to 
look  into  it?     It  speaks,  as   other  communications 


Redemption,  a  Study  to  the  Angels,      i  r 


had  done,  of  the  woman's  "  seed."  Whether  this 
was  intelHgible  to  them  we  do  not  know.  The  fall 
occurred  before  the  birth  of  Cain.  We  are  not  cer- 
tain that  the  angels  had  ever  seen  an  infant.  Among 
their  own  race  we  may  with  confidence  affirm  they 
had  not.  Whether  the  same  or  similar  laws  prevail 
in  other  spheres  which  they  had  visited,  as  mark  the 
family  institute  here,  we  are  not  informed.  But  the 
difference  between  our  race  and  their  own,  in  this 
particular,  could  not  fail  to  interest  them,  not  only 
at  that  juncture,  but  ever  afterward.  They  were  all 
created  in  the  full  maturity  of  their  powers.  Here 
is  a  globe  of  vast  extent  which  is  to  be  peopled  by 
the  descendants  of  a  single  pair,  increasing  and 
spreading  through  successive  generations  until  they 
reach  a  thousand,  possibly  several  thousand,  millions. 
Whether  the  angels,  then,  had  seen  infants  elsewhere 
or  not,  they  could  never  have  gazed  upon  any  with 
the  profound  interest  with  which  they  would  ponder 
the  aspect  and  possible  destiny  of  the  children  of 
Adam  and  Eve.  In  some  way  the  seed  of  this 
woman  is  to  bruise  the  serpent's  head.  Such  is  the 
inscrutable  utterance  which  stays  the  uplifted  arm  of 
justice,  while  it  assures  them  that  sooner  or  later 
justice  will  take  its  course,  and  Satan's  head  be 
crushed  by  the  race  he  had  made  partners  in  his  sin. 
Obscure  as  this  intimation  must  have  been,  as  well 
to  the  angels  as  to  the  guilty  pair,  it  would  unveil  to 

lO* 


114     Redemption^  a  Study  to  the  Angels. 

lliem  a  new  attribute  of  the  Godhead.  Up  to  this 
period,  it  would  seem,  they  had  known  nothing  of 
the  Divine  Mercy.  Its  absence  could  be  no  defect 
in  their  eyes,  for  the  idea  of  Mercy  was  not  yet  born 
into  the  universe  of  creatures.  The  character  of  God, 
as  they  beheld  it,  was  absolutely  perfect :  there  was 
nothing  wanting;  no  excess,  and  no  defect.  What 
a  discovery  was  this  which  now  broke  upon  them  ! 
Listening  to  the  fearful  words  of  the  Eternal  as  He 
pronounced  sentence  upon  the  tem[)ter  and  the 
tempted,  this  vague  promise  of  a  Deliverer  must 
liave  been  as  though  He  had  lifted  a  veil  and  dis- 
closed to  them  one  of  the  brightest  glories  of  His 
character,  of  the  existence  of  which  they  had,  up  to 
that  moment,  formed  no  conception.  Truth,  Justice, 
Goodness,  Holiness, — with  these  attributes  they  were 
familiar.  But  of  Mercy  they  had  never  heard.  They 
had  bowed  in  grateful  worship  at  His  feet.  They  had 
gathered  in  shining  bands  around  His  throne.  They 
had  received  His  mandates,  and  hastened  with  them 
on  joyful  wing  to  distant  orbs  and  systems.  But 
neither  in  His  august  presence-chamber,  nor  in  their 
intercourse  with  other  tribes  of  holy  and  happy  be- 
ings, had  they  heard  of  Mercy.  Throughout  this 
vast  concourse  of  worlds  and  firmaments  no  tongue 
had  ever  lisped  her  name.  Among  the  rapt  hosts 
who  stand  within  the  very  splendors  of  the  throne, 
no  created  eye  had  ever  gazed  upon  her  radiant  form. 


Redemption,  a  Study  to  the  Angels.     1 1 5 

Enfolded  in  tlie  depths  of  His  own  infinitude,  slie  had 
been  from  eternity  awaiting  the  appointed  day  of  her 
epiphany, — her  glorious  manifestation  to  heaven  and 
earth.  Yet  even  now  that  the  period  has  come,  she 
does  not  rise  full-orbed  upon  the  world,  but  mild  and 
gently,  like  the  dawn,  as  befits  the  quality  of  Mercy. 
But  this  shall  suffice  for  angelic  eyes.  Enough  for 
them,  this  vision  of  surpassing  loveliness  which  rav- 
ishes their  sight,  as  a  single  fold  of  those  glitter- 
ing vestments  is  drawn  aside  and  there  falls  upon 
their  ears  this  vague  promise  about  the  seed  of  the 
woman.  Though  Mercy  never  spake  before,  she 
needs  no  interpreter.  They  know  it  is  her  voice  ;  and 
while  they  cannot  fully  comprehend  her  meaning, 
they  do  as  the  shepherds  did  when  she  came  to  them 
in  her  sweetest  guise  four  thousand  years  afterward, 
— they  "  return  glorifying  and  praising  God  for  all  the 
things  that  they  have  heard  and  seen." 

These  occurrences  could  not  fail  to  stimulate  the 
curiosity  of  the  angels.  They  would  watch  with 
deep  solicitude  the  course  of  the  Divine  administra- 
tion towards  our  world.  They  would  treasure  every 
fresh  intimation  of  the  future  deliverance  to  be  effected 
by  the  seed  of  the  woman.  Their  superior  intelli- 
gence and  sagacity,  and  their  advantageous  position, 
would  enable  them  to  understand  better  than  our 
race  could,  the  types  and  prophecies  pointing  to  the 
Messiah.     But  we  have  no  warrant  for  assuininsj  that 


1 1 6     Redemption,  a  Study  to  the  Angels. 

they  comprehended  the  plan,  except  as  it  was  car- 
ried into  effect.  The  presumption  is,  that  during 
those  forty  centuries  it  was  a  perpetual  study  to 
them ;  and  that  as  the  beneficent  scheme  was  grad- 
ually developed,  it  only  increased  their  desire  to  look 
into  its  unfathomable  mysteries. 

Not  to  attempt  the  historical  illustration  of  so 
broad  a  theme,  let  us  note  a  very  few  of  those  lead- 
ing facts  of  redemption  which  were  clearly  in  the 
contemplation  of  the  apostle  when  he  penned  the  text. 

The  first  and  chief  of  these  is,  to  quote  St.  Peter's 
own  words,  ''  tlie  sufferings  of  Christ :''  by  which  we 
may  understand  His  entire  work  of  humiliation  from 
Bethlehem  to  Calvary.  We  must  believe  that  the 
angels  knew,  long  before  the  advent,  that  the  prime- 
val promise  upon  which  we  have  been  commenting 
referred  to  the  Second  Person  of  the  Trinity ;  that 
He  was  to  be  the  Redeemer  of  the  world  ;  and  that 
in  some  way  it  was  to  be  brought  about  through 
suffering.  But  it  is  not  certain  that  they  had  any 
distinct  conception  of  the  incarnation.  Another 
apostle  exclaims:  "Great  is  the  mystery  of  godli- 
ness, God  manifest  in  the  flesh."  How  could  they 
have  penetrated  this  mystery  beforehand  ?  There 
was  neither  precedent  nor  analogy  to  aid  them  in 
resolving  it.  It  is  not  probable  that  they  had  ever 
heard  of  the  union  of  two  natures  in  one  person. 
And  if  such  a  marvel  had  occurred,  not  Gabriel  him- 


Redemption,  a  Study  to  the  Angels.      117 


self  could  liave  soared  to  the  conception  of  a  union 
between  the  Creator  and  a  creature.  Accustomed 
as  tliey  were  to  render  co-equal  honors  to  the  Trin- 
ity, and  especially  to  adore  the  Son  in  "  the  posses- 
sion of  the  glory  which  He  had  with  the  Father  be- 
fore the  world  was,"  how  could  they  think  of  Him 
as  stooping  to  be  "born  of  a  woman,"  as  coming 
into  this  revolted  world  as  an  infant,  blending  His 
Divinity  and  our  humanity  in  an  indissoluble  unity? 
When  the  event  actually  took  place,  they  are  sent 
to  announce  it  to  the  shepherds.  And  the  wonder 
which  filled  the  breasts  of  the  shepherds,  as  they 
stood  by  that  manger,  must  have  been  tame  as  com- 
pared with  their  own.  Hovering,  unseen  and  un- 
thought-of  spectators,  over  that  little  group,  what 
tongue  may  essay  to  describe  their  emotions  as  they 
beheld  in  this  babe,  the  Son  of  the  Highest,  the 
Creator  of  all  things.  Him  who  "thought  it  no  rob- 
bery to  be  equal  with  God,"  and  whom  they  had 
never  seen  before  except  on  His  throne?  Here  at 
length  it  dawns  upon  them,  how  the  seed  of  the 
woman  is  to  bruise  the  serpent's  head.  But  it  only 
dawns.  They  cannot  yet  divine  what  is  to  follow. 
Most  earnestly  do  they  "  desire  to  look"  into  the 
mystery  of  this  scene  at  Bethlehem,  to  comprehend 
this  infant,  to  forecast  its  predicted  career  of  suffering 
and  triumph.  But  they  must  wait.  And  their  waiting 
only  brings  them  into  the  presence  of  fresh  marvels. 


1 1 8     Redemption,  a  Study  to  the  Angels. 

Imagine  what  a  season  of  suspense  those  thirty 
years  must  have  been  to  them  which  Jesus  passed 
at  Nazareth.  How  often  would  they  visit  the 
favored  village.  In  what  vast  encampments  would 
they  spread  around  it.  With  what  intense  longings 
would  they  observe  His  every  act  and  word,  and 
ponder  its  possible  bearings  upon  the  great  object  of 
His  incarnation.  As  He  emerged  from  His  seclu- 
sion to  enter  upon  His  public  ministry,  their  interest 
would  become  deeper  and  deeper  still,  until  it  found 
its  culmination  in  the  cross.  Many  of  the  incidents 
in  His  life  they  would  understand  better  than  His 
disciples.  But  there  must  have  been  very  much 
both  in  His  actions  and  in  His  doctrine  which  they 
would  desire  to  look  into  more  thoroughly.  Indeed, 
His  official  life  as  a  whole  would  be  just  of  this 
character.  It  was  the  life  of  a  sufferer.  They  had 
always  associated  suffering  with  sin.  Here  was  a 
"  man  of  sorrows"  who  was  "  holy,  harmless,  and 
undefiled."  They  had  associated  suffering  with 
weakness  and  dependence.  Here  was  the  Being 
who  laid  the  foundations  of  the  earth,  and  .stretched 
out  the  heavens  as  a  curtain,  bending  under  a  load 
of  grief  and  wrong  enough  to  crush  a  whole  race 
even  of  creatures  like  themselves.  They  had  re- 
garded death  as  the  portion  of  finite  and  depraved 
natures.  And  here  the  Lord  of  glory  cries,  "  It  is 
finished!"  and  "gives  up  the  ghost." 


Redemption,  a  Study  to  the  Angels.     1 1 9 

What  a  study  was  this  for  the  angels !  If  they 
flocked  to  Bethlehem,  what  myriads  of  them  would 
hasten  to  Calvary !  If  the  nativity  perplexed  and 
amazed  them,  how  would  they  stand  appalled  before 
the  crucifixion !  With  what  energy  would  they 
strive  to  sound  its  awful  depths  and  compass  its  vast 
significance!     But  we  must  not  enlarge. 

Not  only  would  the  angels  desire  to  look  into  the 
"sufferings  of  Christ,"  but  into  the  application  of 
redemption  also. 

They  were  familiar  with  two  types  of  character, 
perfect  holiness  and  unmitigated  depravity;  and  with 
two  conditions  of  being,  unalloyed  happiness  and 
absolute  misery.  Neither  their  own  history  nor,  so 
far  as  we  are  informed,  the  annals  of  any  other 
sphere  supplied  them  with  any  example  of  a  char- 
acter in  which  these  elements  were  commingled,  or 
afforded  any  hint  of  a  possible  transition  from  one 
state  to  the  other.  They  knew  nothing  of  forgive- 
ness, nothing  of  renewal.  Once  a  transgressor,  there 
remained,  for  any  creature,  nothing  but  an  endless 
penalty  and  an  eternal  subjection  to  his  evil  passions. 
The  sacrifice  on  Calvary  now  opens  to  them  a  new 
world,  on  earth  as  well  as  in  heaven.  They  had,  in- 
deed, seen  something  of  this  before,  for  the  efficacy 
of  the  great  expiation  reached  backward  to  the  fall. 
But  its  triumph  was  reserved  for  the  new  dispensa- 
tion.    They  have  opened  the  everlasting  gates  and 


1 20     Redemption,  a  Study  to  the  Angeh. 

let  the  King  of  glory  in,  laden  with  the  spoils  of 
earth  and  hell,  and  now  they  behold  the  Third  Per- 
son of  the  Sacred  Trinity  passing  out  of  those  gates 
and  going  down,  not  on  a  transient  errand,  but  to 
make  His  permanent  abode  in  this  apostate  world. 
And  here  they  see  His  miracles  of  mercy, — not  less 
marvellous  in  their  effects  upon  the  souls  of  men 
than  had  been  those  of  the  Messiah  upon  tiieir  bodies. 
This  whole  process  of  a  sinner's  conversion  and  sanc- 
tification,  so  varied  in  its  times,  and  methods,  and 
subjects;  so  illustrative  of  God's  sovereignty,  and 
power,  and  mercy;  cannot  but  be  a  perpetual  study 
to  them,  affluent  in  instruction  and  replete  with  mo- 
tives to  gratitude  and  praise. 

There  must  be  much  in  the  history  of  individual 
believers  to  awaken  their  sympathies,  but  still  more 
in  the  general  welfare  of  the  Church.  In  both  these 
departments  they  feel  the  interest  which  pertains  to 
immediate  actors:  for  they  have  always  been  em- 
ployed as  "  ministering  spirits  to  the  heirs  of  salva- 
tion," and  as  the  servants  of  God  in  directing  the 
'affairs  of  the  world.  They  cannot  know  in  advance 
who  are  to  be  converted,  nor  what  is  to  be  the  course 
of  Divine  Providence,  except  as  they  may  infer  it 
from  the  prophecies.  We  may  be  sure  that  things 
have  not  alwdys  gone  as  they  expected :  that  events 
have  constantly  occurred  which  were  well-nigh  as 
inexplicable  to  them  as   to   us.      Must  it   not  be  a 


Redemption,  a  Study  to  the  Angels.      1 2 1 

marvel  to  them  that  the  Church,  the  purchase  of 
Christ's  blood,  should  have  made  its  way  so  slowly 
and  so  painfully  in  the  world?  that  at  one  time  it 
should  be  poisoned  with  error;  at  another,  frozen 
with  formalism ;  at  a  third,  debauched  with  secularity ; 
at  a  fourth,  fissured  and  rent  with  internal  strife? 
Could  they  decipher  the  ten  early  persecutions,  the 
Dark  Ages,  the  Papacy,  and  Islamism  ?  Can  they 
understand  the  wars  which  deluge  Christian  nations 
with  blood ;  which  enervate  and  demoralize  them, 
arrest  all  healthful  progress,  and  make  a  jubilee  in 
hell?  No  such  phenomena  can  meet  their  eyes  in 
any  other  part  of  creation.  In  heaven  there  is  no- 
thing to  affect  the  stability  of  things ;  nor  in  hell. 
Important  changes  must  take  place  in  those  realms 
and  in  other  orbs.  But  the  presumption  is,  that 
ours  is  the  only  globe  which  is  given  up  to  perpetual 
change ;  where  good  and  evil  are  in  constant  and 
violent  collision  ;  where  the  two  great  hostile  powers 
of  the  universe,  the  good  and  bad  angels,  wage  their 
Titanic  war;  and  where  the  Lord  of  both  stoops  to 
engage  in  the  mighty  fray,  and,  stranger  still,  some- 
times permits  His  malignant  foes  to  gain  at  least 
seeming  victories.  Can  the  angels  understand  all 
this?  Can  they  thread  this  huge  labyrinth?  Can 
they  follow  the  multiform  mutations  of  a  scene  which 
knows  no  rest,  which  recognizes  no  law  but  inces- 
sant fluctuation,  and  which  ever  and  anon  plunges, 

II 


122     Redemption^  a  Study  to  the  Angels, 

as  it  were,  into  a  chaos  so  intractable  as  to  suggest 
the  fear  that  the  Ahnighty  may,  in  His  wrath,  have 
abandoned  the  world  to  final  anarchy  and  ruin  ?  As- 
suredly there  must  be  problems  here  which  would 
baffle  even  a  seraph's  skill.  But  the  darkness  which 
surrounds  them  would  only  increase  the  desire  of 
the  angels  to  look  into  them.  They  know  that  this 
world  is  yet  to  be  reclaimed  :  that  the  kingdom  of 
the  Nazarene  is  to  absorb  all  other  kingdoms :  that 
His  glory  is  to  cover  the  earth  as  the  waters  cover 
the  seas.  And  with  all  the  more  earnestness  do  they 
study  the  career  of  God's  providence,  because  they 
cannot  divine  how  this  tangled  net-work  of  adverse 
events  and  hostile  agencies,  is  to  lead  on  to  the  mil- 
lennial glories  of  the  Church. 

Here,  in  fact,  is  another  of  the  themes  which 
stimulate  the  curiosity  of  the  angels,  "  the  glories 
which  should  follow." 

They  have  seen  the  "sufferings  of  Christ:"  they 
would  fain  see  His  glory.  They  have  seen — they 
see  now — the  sufferings  of  His  Church  :  they  would 
see  its  glory.  They  are  assured  that  these  glories  are 
coming;  for  the  mouth  of  the  Lord  hath  spoken  it. 
They  can,  no  doubt,  frame  a  better  conception  of 
them  than  we  can.  And  this  very  circumstance 
must  increase  their  solicitude  to  witness  the  final 
result.  They  saw  the  first  faint  lineament  of  the 
august  plan  in  Eden.     They  have  not  only  watched, 


Redemption,  a  Study  to  the  Angels.      123 

but  assisted  in,  its  gradual  unfolding  to  this  hour,  as 
they  will  to  its  close.  They  see  also  the  preparation 
for  it  which  is  going  on  in  heaven.  No  wonder  that 
they  long  for  its  sublime  consummation ;  that  they 
desire  to  look  into  those  coming  glories  which  are 
to  crown  the  perfect  and  indissoluble  union  between 
Christ  and  His  Bride,  the  ransomed  Church. 

Such  are  a  very  few  of  the  things  which,  accord- 
ing to  our  apostle,  "the  angels  desire  to  look  into.'' 
If  we  inquire  whence  this  curiosity  on  their  part,  we 
may  easily  conjecture  some  of  the  motives  which 
prompt  it. 

Without  dwelling  upon  that  simple  craving  after 
knowledge  which  pertains  to  every  created  intelli- 
gence, and  which  must  find  so  luxuriant  a  field  in 
the  themes  of  Christianity,  we  may  refer  to  the  aid 
which  the  angels  derive  from  Redemption  in  their 
study  of  the  character  and  government  of  God. 

To  any  creature  the  knowledge  of  the  Creator  is 
the  most  important  of  all  knowledge.  To  holy 
beings,  no  study  can  be  so  attractive.  The  angels, 
as  already  observed,  have  signal  advantages  for  this 
study.  But  th^re  is  no  volume  open  to  them  which 
yields  so  much  information  concerning  God  as  Re- 
demption. We  have  illustrated  this  in  respect  to  one 
of  His  perfections.  It  holds  true  no  less  of  His 
wisdom  and  justice  than  of  His  mercy.  St.  Paul 
glances  at  this  point :  "  to  the  intent  that  now  unto 


124     Redemption,  a  Study  to  the  Angels. 

principalities  and  powers  in  lieavcnly  places  might 
be  known  by  the  Church  the  manifold  wisdom  of 
God."  Heaven  cannot  lack  for  evidences  of  the 
Divine  wisdom  ;  but  if  it  would  see  this  attribute  in 
its  glory,  it  must  come  down  to  earth.  Its  grand 
achievement  is  redemption.  Justice  vindicated,  and 
mercy  triumphant:  sin  punished,  and  the  sinner 
saved :  heaven  bestowed  upon  the  guilty  and  the 
vile,  and  the  recipient  not  elated,  but  humbled : 
Satan  vanquished  by  the  seed  of  the  woman:  death 
turned  into  a  fountain  of  life:  the  cross  not  merely 
transfigured  into  the  brightest  crown  of  the  Son  of 
God,  but  multiplied  into  as  many  such  crowns  as 
there  will  be  ransomed  sinners  in  heaven; — this  is 
the  wisdom  which  streams  forth  from  redemption, 
and  bathes  Cherubim  and  Seraphim,  no  less  than 
man,  with  its  splendors. 

And  what  we  affirm  of  His  wisdom  we  claim  also 
for  His  other  moral  attributes.  Here  "  mercy  and 
truth  meet  together,  righteousness  and  peace  kiss 
each  other."  Nowhere  else  has  the  Deity  made  so 
full,  so  august,  so  grateful,  a  revelation  of  Himself. 
From  none  of  His  works  is  He  to  receive  such  a 
revenue  of  praise.  None  will  so  fill  the  universe 
with  His  glory.  This  is  one  reason  why  the  angels 
desire  to  look  into  it. 

A  second  reason  is  to  be  found  in  their  personal 
concern  in  the  results  of  redemption. 


Redemption,  a  Study  to  the  Angels.      125 

It  is  an  opinion  sanctioned  by  many  eminent 
names  in  theology,  that  the  good  angels  owe  their 
confirmation  in  hohness  in  some  way  to  the  media- 
tion of  Christ.  This  is  not  asserted  in  Scripture,  but 
there  are  passages  which  seem  to  favor  the  idea. 
We  read,  e.g.,  of  "  the  elect  angels."  We  are  told 
that  God  "  gathers  together  in  one  all  things  in 
Christ,  both  which  are  in  heaven  and  which  are 
on  earth,  even  in  Him."  And  that  "all  power  is 
given  Him  in  heaven  and  in  earth."  There  is  room, 
then,  for  the  conjecture  that  to  Him  these  unfallen 
spirits  may  be  indebted  for  their  permanent  preser- 
vation from  apostasy.  One  thing  is  beyond  ques- 
tion :  redemption  has  supplied  them  with  new  mo- 
tives to  fidelity,  of  the  most  tender  and  persuasive 
character. 

There  is  another  respect  in  which  they  are  inter- 
ested in  this  work.  In  the  revolt  of  their  associates, 
they  became  no  less  their  enemies  than  the  enemies 
of  God.  That  mighty  war  of  which  we  have  so 
many  glimpses,  is  a  conflict  between  the  fallen  and 
the  unfallen  spirits  : 

"  .   .   .   .   tho'  strange  to  us  it  seem 
At  first,  that  angel  should  with  angel  war 
And  in  fierce  hosting  meet,  who  wont  to  meet 
So  oft  in  festivals  of  joy  and  love 
Unanimous,  as  sons  of  one  Great  Sire, 
Hymning  the  Eternal  Father." 
II* 


126      Redemption^  a  Study  to  the  Angels. 

It  could  not  be  otherwise.  When  Lucifer  lifted 
his  parricidal  arm  against  God,  the  blow  was  aimed 
at  every  faithful  subject  of  God  throughout  the  uni- 
verse. Our  great  Epic  Poet  has  not  transcended  the 
bounds  of  sober  verity  in  representing  the  hosts  of 
heaven  as  following  their  and  our  Divine  Leader  to 
our  globe,  here  to  contest  with  Satan  the  mastery  of 
the  human  soul.  In  all  the  plots  and  counterplots, 
the  assaults  and  repulses,  the  victories  and  defeats, 
of  this  war  of  centuries,  they  have  taken  a  conspicu- 
ous part.  Their  immediate  personal  concern  in  it, 
then,  is  a  cogent  reason  why  they  should  desire  to 
look  into  the  mystery  which  infolds  it. 

And  this  imports  that  tlidr  oivn  happiness  is  in- 
volved in  the  issue. 

Merely  to  glance  at  this  point,  the  benevolence  of 
the  angels  must  attract  them  to  the  study  of  redemp- 
tion. They  know  what  the  happiness  of  heaven  is. 
They  have  vividly  before  their  eyes  the  misery  of 
hell.  Here  is  a  race  whose  destiny  is  undecided, 
the  only  race  which  is  in  this  anomalous  condition. 
They  are  sinners,  and  doomed  to  death.  But  a 
Saviour  is  offered  them,  and  they  may  escape  the 
doom.  Whatever  the  issue,  it  must  be  irreversible. 
The  fate  of  millions  of  souls  hangs  upon  the  trem- 
bling balance.  Is  it  for  an  angel  to  look  upon  such 
a  scene  with  indifference?  This  were  to  belie  their 
nature;  almost  to  betray  their  Lord.      So  far  from 


Redemption,  a  Study  to  the  Angels.      127 

indifference,  they  are  vigilant  in  defending  men  from 
the  perils  that  surround  them.  They  omit  nothing 
which  may  promote  the  progress  of  true  religion. 
They  watch  with  solicitude  the  effects  produced  by 
the  preaching  of  the  Gospel,  and  other  means  of 
grace.  When  even  one  sinner  is  converted,  they 
hasten  to  announce  it  in  heaven,  and  there  is  joy 
throughout  all  their  shining  ranks.  They  count  it 
as  a  privilege  to  minister  to  the  people  of  God. 
They  encamp  around  them  in  danger,  and  deliver 
them.  They  succor  them  in  sorrow  and  suffering. 
And  at  death,  they  receive  the  departing  spirit,  and 
convoy  it  to  the  Saviour's  presence.  To  beings  of 
such  pure  benevolence,  offices  of  this  kind  must 
yield  great  happiness,  especially  when  exercised  to- 
wards those  for  whom  the  Lord  of  both  saints  and 
angels  laid  down  His  life.  It  can  occasion  no  sur- 
prise, then,  that  they  should  never  weary  in  studying 
the  plan  of  salvation. 

But  it  is  time  to  conclude  this  discourse.  And  I 
shall  do  it  with  two  reflections,  as  obvious  as  they 
are  important. 

I.  Let  us  borrow  from  this  Scripture  a  single  ray 
of  light  to  set  forth  tJie  quality  of  that  skepticism 
which  men  of  cultivated  minds  sometimes  cherish 
respecting  Christianity. 

Now,  as  of  old,  the  Gospel  is  "to  the  Jew  a  stum- 


128      Redemption^  a  Study  to  the  Angels. 

bling-block  and  to  the  Greek  foolishness."  You 
stigmatize  it  as  not  only  oppressive  in  its  demands, 
but  even  irrational  in  its  principles.  The  doctrine  of 
pardon  through  an  atonement;  of  a  gratuitous  sal- 
vation through  the  obedience  of  a  substitute,  with- 
out any  personal  merit  of  your  own  ;  of  a  transfor- 
mation of  character  wrought  in  the  soul  by  the  direct 
power  of  God ; — may  suffice  for  children  and  peas- 
ants :  it  cannot  command  the  suffrages  of  educated 
men.  This  is  your  feeling, — your  feeling  as  you 
look  down  in  pity,  if  not  in  derision,  upon  the  un- 
lettered around  you.  It  so  happens,  however,  that 
there  is  another  race  who  look  down  upon  you ; 
a  race  whose  intellectual  elevation  separates  them 
even  from  our  Lockes  and  Newtons  and  Laplaces 
by  an  immeasurably  wider  space  than  that  which 
divides  you  from  the  people  you  hold  in  such 
contempt.  In  your  foolish  and  criminal  pride, 
you  carry  yourselves  haughtily  towards  your  fellow- 
creatures  at  your  side.  But  let  an  angel  come  to 
you,  as  one  came  to  the  Saviour's  tomb,  "  whose 
countenance  was  like  lightning,  and  his  raiment 
white  as  snow,"  and,  like  the  sentinels  who  kept 
guard  there,  you  would  "  shake  and  become  as  dead 
men."  Like  Manoah,  you  would  be  ready  to  cry 
out,  "  Surely  we  shall  die,  because  we  have  seen 
God."  Well,  heaven  is  full  of  such  angels.  Nor 
heaven  only. 


Redemption,  a  Study  to  the  Angels.      129 

"  Millions  of  spiritual  creatures  walk  the  earth." 

Earth  is  their  favorite  sojourn.  We  have  reason  to 
believe  that  there  is  not  one  of  these  countless  orbs 
that  spangle  the  firmament,  which  they  love  so  well 
to  visit  and  where  they  spend  so  much  time.  And 
wherefore  ?  That  they  may  cultivate  the  arts,  and 
master  the  sciences,  and  amass  the  various  knowl- 
edge on  which  you  pride  yourselves  ?  No.  But  to 
look  into  the  deeper  mysteries,  and  explore  the 
richer  treasures,  and  pursue  the  sublimer  discoveries 
of  that  faith  which  you  disdain  to  accept,  or  even 
candidly  and  thoroughly  to  examine.  Away  with 
this  pretentious  sciolism !  Go  to  the  angels  for  a 
lesson  of  humility,  and  learn  from  them  that  if  you 
would  ever  comprehend  "these  things"  which  so 
engross  and  ravish  them, — if  you  would  not  die,  and 
die  eternally,  without  the  sight  of  spiritual,  saving 
truth, — you  must  search  for  it  in  a  very  different 
temper  from  that  which  has  hitherto  inspired  your 
studies. 

2.  There  is  a  keen  rebuke  in  this  Scripture  for 
those  who  are  living  in  the  neglect  of  tlie  Gospel. 

I  am  not  speaking  now  of  avowed  opposers  of  re- 
ligion. The  admonition,  my  unconverted  hearers,  is 
for  you.  What  a  reproach  to  any  of  us  that  we 
should  be  less  interested  in  the  work  of  redemption 
than  the  angels!  They  need  no  Saviour.  It  was 
not  for  their  companions  He  died.     Had  He  taken 


1 30     Redemption,  a  Study  to  the  Angels. 

on  Him  the  nature  of  angels,  this  solicitude  might 
have  been  anticipated.  But  it  was  our  nature  He 
assumed ;  our  race  He  ransomed ;  our  globe  He 
made  the  theatre  of  those  stupendous  events  to 
which  the  text  alludes.  These  transactions  are  a 
study  to  the  heavenly  hosts.  From  every  quarter 
they  come  here  to  learn  lessons  in  theology,  which 
no  other  sphere,  not  even  heaven  itself,  could  teach 
them.  Employed  in  various  ways  in  the  affairs  of 
our  world, — in  its  harvests,  its  politics,  its  social 
progress,  its  wars,  its  storms  and  pestilences, — this 
is  their  chosen  theme,  their  constant  and  delightful 
study.  Nothing  so  invites,  so  entrances  them  as  re- 
demption. And  among  the  marvels  which  attract 
and  confound  them,  the  indifference  of  men  to  this 
subject  cannot  be  the  least  signal.  Does  it  not 
strike  you  so  ?  Are  you  not  sometimes  amazed  at 
your  own  torpor, — your  ungrateful,  criminal  insensi- 
bility to  the  Gospel  ?  Are  the  angels  to  be  more 
concerned  about  redemption  than  we  are,  for  whom 
Christ  died?  Is  all  heaven  to  be  moved  for  our 
deliverance,  and  are  we  to  slumber  on  ?  Is  all  the 
generous  sympathy  and  all  the  watchful  care  of  these 
exalted  beings  for  our  salvation  to  be  turned  to 
nought  by  our  wilful  blindness  and  perversity?  As- 
suredly, my  dear  hearers,  this  conduct  must  yield  its 
fruit.  You  must  yet  confront  these  angels.  If  you 
persevere  in  this  course  they  will  meet  you  at  the 


Redemption^  a  Study  to  the  Angels.       131 

bar  of  Christ  to  overwhelm  you  with  their  testi- 
mony to  your  unbehef  and  impenitency.  How  much 
better  to  emulate  their  example  now ;  humbly  and 
prayerfully  to  look  into  the  things  of  redemption, 
and  own  the  Lord  of  angels  2^1,  your  Redeemer. 


CHRIST,  THE   DESIRE   OF  ALL   NATIONS. 


Haggai   ii.   7. 


"  A^id  the  Desire  of  all  nations  shall  come.'" 

The  last  three  Prophets,  in  the  order  of  the  Old 
Testament  canon,  Haggai,  Zechariah,  and  Malachi, 
lived  after  the  return  of  the  Jews  from  the  Babylonish 
captivity.  The  two  brief  chapters  which  bear  the 
name  of  Haggai  are  mainly  taken  up  with  exhorta- 
tions concerning  the  rebuilding  of  the  temple.  Re- 
ferring in  the  context  to  the  splendor  of  Solomon's 
temple,  he  utters  the  remarkable  prediction,  that  "  the 
glory  of  the  latter  house  should  be  greater  than  of 
the  former."  "  Remarkable,"  I  call  it,  because  his 
countrymen,  whom  he  was  urging  to  arise  and  build, 
could  not  have  expected,  with  their  scant  means,  to 
erect  a  structure  which  should  rival  the  gorgeous 
temple  of  their  fathers ;  and,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the 
edifice  they  reared  came  far  short  of  it  in  architect- 
ural magnificence.  This  is  a  cogent  reason  for  ad- 
hering to  the  traditionary  interpretation  of  the  text 
132 


Christ,  the  Desire  of  all  Nations.       133 

as  pointing  to  the  Messiah.  Eminent  critics  insist 
upon  the  rendering,  "  The  beauty  of  the  heathen, 
or  of  all  nations,  shall  come  ;"  i.e.,  their  beautiful 
things  :  their  silver  and  gold  and  treasures  of  every 
kind  shall  come  (in  other  phrase,  shall  be  brought) 
into  the  promised  kingdom  foretold  in  the  context. 
Even  in  this  view  the  spirit  of  the  passage  is  not  in 
conflict  with  the  other  explanation  ;  for  the  reference 
is  confessedly  to  the  reign  of  the  Messiah.  But  in 
writing  to  the  Hebrews,  St.  Paul  quotes  the  preceding 
verses  as  applying  (so  he  is  commonly  understood) 
the  shaking  of  the  earth  and  the  heavens  there  men- 
tioned, to  the  great  civil  and  military  convulsions, 
which  heralded  the  advent  of  Christ  and  the  opening 
of  the  new  dispensation.  It  is  in  this  connection  the 
prophet  affirms  that  "the  Desire  of  all  nations  shall 
come;"  and  that  the  new  temple  shall  be  more  glo- 
rious than  the  old.  As  this  was  not  verified  in  a 
material  sense,  Christian  commentators  of  all  schools 
have  generally  agreed  that  it  must  refer  to  the  actual 
presence  of  the  Redeemer  in  the  second  temple. 
The  former  temple  contained  a  visible  emblem  of  the 
Deity,  the  cloud  of  glory  shadowing  the  mercy-seat. 
But  the  Lord  himself  came  to  the  later  temple.  That 
had  the  shadow;  this  the  substance.  The  type  was 
there ;  the  ante-type  here.  The  resplendent  prophecy 
there ;  the  more  resplendent  fulfilment  here.  On 
these  grounds  we  seem  warranted  in  adhering  to  the 


134        Christ,  the  Desii'e  of  all  Nations. 

ancient  view,  that  the  text  is  a  prediction  of  the 
coming  of  tlie  Messiah  :  "  The  Desire  of  all  }iatio)is, 
the  promised  Deliverer,  shall  earner 

Let  us,  then,  contemplate  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as 
"  tlie  Desire  of  all  nations."  The  title,  it  must  be  ad- 
mitted, requires  some  explanation,  since  He  is,  to 
so  large  a  portion  even  of  the  nominally  Christian 
world,  "  as  a  root  out  of  dry  ground,  without  form 
or  comeliness." 

It  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  this  title  has  some 
respect  to  the  design  of  the  Father  in  sending  Him 
into  the  zvorld.  The  Jews  could  not  believe  that  sal- 
vation was  intended  for  any  but  themselves.  But 
this  fond  conceit  was  at  variance  with  their  own 
Scriptures.  In  the  covenant  of  redemption,  the 
language  of  the  Father  to  the  Son  was,  "  It  is  a 
light  thing  that  thou  shouldest  be  my  servant  to 
raise  up  the  tribes  of  Jacob,  and  to  restore  the  pre- 
served of  Israel :  I  will  also  give  thee  for  a  Light  to 
the  Gentiles,  that  thou  mayest  be  my  salvation  unto 
the  end  of  the  earth."  (Isa.  xlix.  6.)  Accordingly, 
in  that  beautiful  prophecy  of  the  patriarch  (Gen. 
xlix.  lo),  one  of  the  earliest  on  record,  it  is  declared, 
"Unto  Him  shall  the  gathering  of  the  people  be." 
Many  times  is  this  repeated  along  the  line  of  proph- 
ecy. And  when  at  length  the  infant  Immanuel  ap- 
pears, the  venerable  Simeon,  taking  the  beloved  child 
in  his  arms,  utters  over  Him  that  touching,  prophetic 


Christ,  the  Desire  of  all  Nations.       135 


aspiration,  "  Lord,  now  lettest  thou  Thy  servant  de- 
part in  peace,  according  to  Thy  word:  for  mine  eyes 
have  seen  Thy  salvation,  which  Thou  hast  prepared 
before  the  face  of  all  people ;  a  Light  to  lighten  the 
Gentiles,  and  the  glory  of  Thy  people  Israel." 

We  may  not  pry  too  curiously  into  the  reasons  of 
that  economy  which  virtually  restricted  salvation  for 
several  centuries  to  the  seed  of  Abraham.  Enough 
that  it  was  the  declared  purpose  of  God  to  remove 
those  walls  of  separation,  and  provide  a  Redeemer 
for  the  "  world."  "  Ask  of  me,  and  I  will  give  thee 
the  heathen  for  thine  inheritance,  and  the  uttermost 
parts  of  the  earth  for  thy  possession."  He  did  ask; 
and  the  purpose  and  promise  which  began  to  pass 
into  fulfilment  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  are  still 
achieving  their  victories  before  our  eyes. 

This,  indeed,  may  be  cited  as  a  separate  confirma- 
tion of  the  title,  the  Desire  of  all  nations. 

While  He  has  not,  up  to  this  time,  been  the  actual 
Desire  of  all  of  every  nation,  nor  even  of  all  of  any 
one  nation,  yet  very  many  of  different  nations  have 
owned  and  adored  Him  as  their  Lord.  A  spectator 
of  that  scene  at  Pentecost  could  scarcely  have  re- 
pressed the  feeling,  "  Surely,  the  Desire  of  all  nations 
has  come."  For  nearly  twenty  distinct  nations  and 
tribes  came  forward,  by  their  representatives,  on  that 
memorable  day,  to  do  homage  to  the  Son  of  God. 
More    than    thrice    twenty    have    followed    in    their 


136        Christ,  the  Desire  of  all  Natiofzs. 

steps.  Indeed,  wherever  His  word  has  gone  He  has 
found  friends  and  worshippers.  In  every  land  there 
have  been  some  to  desire  Him.  No  nation  so  re- 
fined, none  so  debased,  but  there  have  been  individ- 
uals among  them  to  do  Him  honor. 

He  is  the  only  Being  that  has  appeared  in  the 
world  of  whom  this  could  be  affirmed.  Every 
nation,  pagan,  Moharfimedan,  and  Christian,  has  its 
heroes  and  sages.  Within  their  respective  coun- 
tries they  have  received  general  homage.  In  some 
instances,  they  have  acquired  a  world-wide  celeb- 
rity. But  for  none  of  them  could  it  be  claimed  that 
he  was  the  Desire  of  all  nations,  in  the  sense  in 
which  this  title  is  challenged  for  Jesus  of  Naza- 
reth. Take  the  name  of  Confucius,  of  Aristotle,  of 
Plato,  of  Mohammed  even,  and  carry  it  round  the 
world.  Explain  the  ethical  or  religious  system  de- 
vised by  any  one  of  these  distinguished  men.  Em- 
ploy all  the  arts  of  learning  and  logic  to  enforce  its 
dicta  upon  the  human  mind  and  conscience.  And 
what  have  you  accomplished  ?  Here  and  there, 
among  the  more  cultivated  peoples,  you  will  have 
interested  a  few  persons  in  the  study  of  the  themes 
presented.  In  the  case  of  Mohammedanism,  you  will 
have  made  converts  among  the  ruder  tribes.  But 
whoever  may  have  been  your  hero,  you  will  not  re- 
turn from  your  mission  with  the  feeling,  "  Here  is 
the  Desire  of  all  nations."     Nowhere — not  in  a  sinele 


Christ,  the  Desire  of  all  Nations.       137 

bosom,  or  in  respect  to  a  single  philosopher — will 
you  have  enkindled  the  emotions  of  love  and  grati- 
tude, of  trust  and  joy,  which  ravish  so  many  hearts 
throughout  those  very  lands  when  the  name  of  Jesus 
Christ,  the  Anointed  of  God,  is  pronounced.  It  is 
not  that  they  admire  Him  as  they  may  admire  a 
great  captain  like  Csesar  or  Wellington  ;  nor  that 
they  revere  Him  as  they  may  an  illustrious  sage, 
like  Zoroaster  or  Socrates ;  nor  that  they  honor 
Him  as  they  may  a  generous  philanthropist,  like 
John  Howard  or  William  VVilberforce.  It  is  some- 
thing deeper,  loftier,  holier,  and  more  lasting  than 
this.  And  it  is  a  common  sentiment.  It  is  a  plant 
that  will  grow  in  every  soil  and  climate, — on  the 
rock,  in  the  clay,  in  the  sand;  by  the  rivers  and  in 
the  desert ;  at  the  equator  and  at  the  poles.  Men 
of  all  kindreds  and  languages  regard  Jesus  Christ 
with  the  same  feelings.  As  between  the  cultivated 
scholars  of  Christendom  and  the  African  Caffir  there 
is  a  chasm,  intellectual,  social,  and  moral,  which  no 
art  of  man  can  bridge  over.  And  yet  it  needs  only 
that  two  strangers,  of  whatever  variant  climes  and 
tongues,  standing  on  opposite  sides  of  this  abyss, 
shall  be  brought  to  Jesus  Christ,  to  create  a  concord 
and  a  sympathy  between  them  more  complete  and 
durable  than  any  which  springs  out  of  the  most  en- 
dearing ties  of  natural  affection.  There  may  still  be 
a  wide  difference  in  the  breadth  and  comprehension 


138        Christ,  the  Desire  of  all  Nations. 

of  their  spiritual  views ;  and  nearly  as  great  an  in- 
equality as  before  in  their  relative  grades  of  mental 
culture.  But  when  they  think  of  the  Redeemer,  it 
will  be  with  a  common  feeling  of  want  and  unworthi- 
ness,  with  a  common  affiance  upon  His  sacrifice,  and 
common  sentiments  of  love  and  thankfulness.  And 
this,  in  turn,  will  inspire  a  mutual  esteem  and  make 
them  feel  that  they  are  '*  one  in  Christ  Jesus." 

The  case  is  stronger  still.  Christ  is  the  one  para- 
mount Desire  of  those  who  have  scarcely  anything 
else  in  common.  Men  who  are  the  poles  apart  on 
other  topics, — on  questions  of  literature,  of  politics, 
of  trade,  of  metaphysics,  of  church-government, — use 
the  same  language  when  they  bow  before  the  mercy- 
seat,  sing  the  same  psalms  of  praise  to  the  Redeemer, 
and  labor  with  the  same  zeal  to  make  Him  known 
to  others.  Where  He  is  concerned,  all  their  hopes 
and  aspirations  coalesce,  like  needles  pointing  to  the 
same  pole.  In  this  identity  of  experience  there  is 
ample  reason  why  He  should  be  styled  the  "  Desire 
of  all  nations." 

It  may  be  alleged,  however,  that  this  view  compre- 
hends only  those  persons  of  whatever  country  who 
have  been  brought  to  a  personal  knowledge  of  Christ 
as  their  own  Redeemer.  Is  there  any  sense  in  which 
the  title  in  the  text  can  be  applied  to  Him  in  its  lit- 
eral import?  Is  He,  in  the  obvious  signification  of 
the  words,  the  "  Desire  of  all  nations"  ? 


Christ,  the  Desire  of  all  Nations.        139 

Of  course  he  cannot  be  the  conscious  Desire  of  na- 
tions who  have  never  heard  of  Him:  this  would  be 
a  self-contradiction.  But  He  may  be,  nay,  He  actually 
is,  the  unconscious  Desire  even  of  these  nations,  and 
so  the  "  Desire  of  all  nations."  That  is  to  say,  there 
are  desires  common  to  the  nations  who  know  Him 
not,  and  to  the  nations  that  know  Him,  which  can  be 
satisfied  only  in  Jesus  Christ.  We  may  suppose  a 
city  to  be  scourged  with  a  pestilence  which  baffles 
the  skill  of  its  physicians.  There  is  a  medicine  which 
would  cure  the  disease.  The  afflicted  people  do  not 
yet  know  of  it.  But  every  one  of  them  is  craving 
such  an  antidote.  Would  it  not  be  proper  to  say  of 
this  medicine,  "  It  is  the  desire  of  all  their  hearts"  ? 
This  is  what  we  affirm  of  Christ  in  respect  to  the 
nations  that  have  not  heard  of  him. 

He  is  their  Desire,  inasmuch  as  they  long  for  a 
competent  and  infallible  Teacher.  Enfeebled  and 
depraved  as  human  nature  is,  it  craves  truth  as  its 
proper  aliment.  The  love  of  truth  is  natural  to  man. 
It  may  be  blunted  and  borne  down  by  vice  and  error 
and  passion  ;  but  it  is  not  annihilated.  There  is  still 
a  latent  yearning  that  is  not  to  be  pacified  until  it 
finds  the  truth  which  God  has  appointed  as  its  nutri- 
ment. If  proof  of  this  be  needed,  look  around. 
What  is  the  mainspring  of  that  activity  which  per- 
vades the  intellectual  world  ?  The  pursuit  of  truth 
(I   do  not  say  of  spiritual  and  saving  truth)  is  the 


140        Christ,  the  Desire  of  all  Nations. 

grand  aim  which  engrosses  all  minds.  In  every 
branch  of  letters,  in  every  science,  in  every  depart- 
ment of  society,  in  all  professions  and  occupations, 
men  are  seeking  after  truth.  And  it  is  no  less  the 
anxious  aspiration  of  many  burdened  hearts  amidst 
the  gloom  of  paganism,  and  in  the  darkness  of  skep- 
ticism, "  WJiat  is  truth  ?"  Beyond  the  sphere  of  the 
Christian  Scriptures,  mankind  have  always  been  the 
sport  of  ignorance  and  error.  One  teacher  follows 
another,  and  one  system  supplants  another,  each 
leading  the  multitude  captive  for  the  time,  but  all 
deceptive  and  tantalizing.  These  systems  vary  in- 
definitely among  themselves.  Some  are  more  ra- 
tional and  of  better  moral  tendency  than  others;  are 
more  consistent,  more  practical,  and  more  useful. 
But  they  labor  under  the  same  fatal  defects :  they 
are  none  of  them  clear  enough  to  answer  the  pur- 
poses of  a  chart ;  and  none  of  them  are  clothed  with 
authority.  The  voice  with  which  they  speak  is  the 
voice  of  feeble,  short-sighted  man  ;  and  the  course  of 
events  is  constantly  branding  their  utterances  with 
ignorance  and  folly. 

Left  to  these  blind  guides,  the  nations  have  lived 
and  died,  wandering  sadly  through  the  mazes  of 
error.  Here  and  there  they  have  rested  for  a  while 
in  some  system  which  wore  a  better  semblance  than 
the  one  it  superseded.  But  after  a  while  this  also 
has  proved  an  ignis-fatnus,  and  they  have  found  them- 


Christ,  the  Desii'-e  of  all  Nations,        141 

selves  without  support  or  asylum.  These  changes, 
however,  have  rather  fostered  than  impaired  the  in- 
ward craving  for  some  wise,  unerring,  and  authori- 
tative teacher.  Worn  and  wearied  with  perpetual 
disappointments,  humanity  has  longed  for  the  ad- 
vent of  One  who  could  resolve  its  doubts,  allay  its 
fears,  and  re-inspire  its  hopes,  by  unfolding  to  it 
immortal  truth, — truth  in  its  purity,  its  fulness, 
its  benevolence,  and  its  Divine  sanctions.  Such  a 
Teacher  appeared  in  the  Son  of  God  incarnate.  He 
came  to  reveal  the  truth  on  all  those  subjects  which 
are  of  vital  importance  to  man ;  to  dispel  his  igno- 
rance, rectify  his  mistakes,  and  conduct  him  where 
he  could  plant  his  feet  on  solid  ground,  and  feel  that 
he  had  exchanged  light  for  darkness,  certainty  for 
conjecture,  and  peace  for  hopeless  perplexity  and 
apprehension.  So  much  was  this  the  character  of 
Christ  as  a  Teacher,  that  He  could  even,  without 
extravagance  or  presumption,  lay  His  hand  upon 
His  breast  and  say,  "  I  am  the  Truth."  For  all 
essential  and  saving  truth  emanates  from,  and  centres 
in.  Him.  And  in  this  view  we  vindicate  the  title 
applied  to  Him  by  the  prophet,  as  the  "  Desire  of  all 
nations." 

Another  mute  prophecy  of  His  advent,  virtually 
included  in  the  one  just  considered,  is  to  be  found  in 
the  general  longing  of  mankind  for  a  clearer  niani- 
festation  of  the  Deity. 


142        Christy  the  Desire  of  all  Nations. 

Man  has  been  sufficiently  degraded  by  sin  ;  but 
he  must  have  been  completely  brutalized  not  to 
retain  some  sense  of  a  Higher  Power  to  whom  he 
owed  allegiance.  There  is  an  ineradicable  law  writ- 
ten upon  his  heart,  which  points  to  a  sovereignty 
without  himself,  and  makes  him  yearn  for  its  revela- 
tion. He  must  have  a  god.  If  he  cannot  have  the 
true  God,  he  will  fashion  gods  to  himself  This  he 
has  been  doing  from  the  period  of  the  primal  apos- 
tasy. And  if  anything  could  abase  the  pride  of 
human  reason,  it  would  be  to  look  over  the  globe 
and  see  the  objects  which  man  has  deified.  Not  to 
go  into  details,  which  the  present  argument  does 
not  call  for,  there  is  no  visible  thing,  from  the  sun 
in  the  heavens  to  the  worm  we  tread  upon,  that 
has  not  by  some  tribe  or  nation  been  exalted  into 
a  god.  The  mythologies  alike  of  the  most  polished 
and  the  most  ignorant  peoples,  have  abounded  with 
gods  created  by  men's  fears  and  hopes  out  of  their 
own  passions  and  vices.  The  vague  but  deep-seated 
craving  after  a  blending  of  the  seen  and  the  unseen, 
the  Divine  and  the  human,  the  Creator  and  the 
creature,  has  found  expression,  on  the  one  hand,  in 
the  apotheosis  of  heroes  ;  and  on  the  other,  in  the 
incarnations  of  the  Deity :  the  former,  as  in  the  dei- 
fied warriors  of  Greece  and  Rome,  lifting  up  man  to 
God  ;  the  latter,  as  in  the  avatars  of  the  Hindoos, 
bringing  God  down  to  man.     Everywhere,  and  in  all 


Christ,  the  Desire  of  all  Nations.        143 

ages,  the  deathless  principle  in  man  has  been  press- 
ing against  the  impenetrable  curtain  which  shuts  us 
in,  essaying  to  find  or  make  some  rent  through 
which  it  might  gain  a  transient  glimpse  of  that 
mysterious  Being  who  sits  there  enthroned  in  awful 
majesty,  if,  peradventure,  there  might  be  some  subtle 
bond  of  sympathy  to  link  His  nature  with  our  own. 
In  other  words,  man  has  sought  a  clearer  manifes- 
tation of  the  Deity,  and  he  has  hoped  to  behold 
Him  as,  in  some  way,  a  sharer  of  our  humanity. 
This  universal  yearning — for  so  we  are  warranted  in 
regarding  it — is  met  in  the  mission  of  Jesus  Christ. 
The  desire  of  all  nations  is  satisfied  in  Him.  As  a 
revelation  of  God,  His  presence  throws  into  shadow 
the  brightest  glories  of  the  Divinity  impressed  upon 
the  works  of  creation  and  providence.  No  nation 
need  now  ask  in  despondency,  "  What  is  God  ?" 
For  in  the  Person  of  the  Redeemer  He  offers  Him- 
self to  the  contemplation  and  homage  of  the  world, 
with  His  perfections  unimpaired,  and  yet  so  veiled 
that  mortal  eyes  can  look  upon  them.  And  here, 
too,  is  the  human  with  the  Divine.  Here  is  the 
strange  commingling  of  the  might  and  majesty,  the 
immensity  and  holiness  of  the  Godhead,  with  the 
innocent  infirmities,  the  love  and  the  pity  and  the 
tenderness  of  a  fellow-man  and  fellow-sufferer.  Ecce 
Homo!  Eccc  Dens !  Behold  the  Man!  Behold  the 
God !     What   craving   of  the   soul   is   not  provided 


144        Christ,  the  Desire  of  all  Nations. 

for  here?  Summon  the  nations  from  afar, — "from 
earth's  remotest  bound," — Jew  and  Gentile,  Christian 
and  pagan,  polytheist  and  pantheist :  let  them  look 
upon  our  glorious  Immanuel  and  say  whether  all 
they  have  longed  to  know  concerning  God  is  not 
revealed  in  Jesus  Christ ;  whether  He  does  not  meet 
all  the  demands  of  their  reason  and  all  the  yearn- 
ings of  their  hearts  !  Do  we  err,  then,  when  we 
affirm  that  "  the  Desire  of  all  nations"  has  come? 

With  still  greater  emphasis  may  we  point  to 
Christ  as  "  the  Desire  of  all  nations"  in  respect  to 
His  redeeming  work. 

The  grand  necessity  of  the  race  is  a  Saviour. 
From  the  hour  Adam  hid  himself  from  his  Maker 
in  the  garden  until  now  this  has  been  man's  ad- 
mitted, paramount,  universal  want.  Every  religion 
is  founded  upon  it, — even  the  most  revolting  forms 
of  polytheism,  and  the  devil-worship  of  the  poor 
Africans.  Wherever  man  is  there  is  a  sense  of  sin 
and  danger;  a  feeling  of  exposure  to  penalty;  the 
dread  of  an  offended  Deity.  This  sentiment  has 
ever  expressed  itself  in  one  and  the  same  form,  that 
of  sacrifice.  Inheriting  the  conviction  from  the  first 
pair,  which  they  must  have  received  by  direct  reve- 
lation, mankind  have  everywhere  acted  upon  the 
belief  that  the  offering  up  of  life  was  essential  to 
placate  the  God,  too  often  the  unknown  God,  they 
had  displeased.     It  is  no  mere  dictuni  of  the  Bible, 


Christ,  the  Desire  of  all  Nations.        1 45 

"Without  shedding  of  blood  there  can  be  no  remis- 
sion." It  is  part  of  the  "  law  written  upon  the 
heart."  Witness  the  animals  daily  offered  upon  a 
million  of  altars.  Witness  the  human  victims  im- 
molated sometimes  by  hecatombs.  They  all  mean 
the  same  thing.  They  attest  the  universal  con- 
science of  guilt,  and  the  necessity  of  appeasing  the 
Deity  by  the  sacrifice  of  life.  The  feeling  is,  that 
the  more  costly  the  sacrifice  the  more  effectual  is 
the  expiation.  Men  have,  therefore,  brought  to  the 
altar  their  choicest  animals.  Nations  have  exulted 
in  human  sacrifices.  And  in  great  emergencies  they 
have  sought  to  avert  public  danger  by  selecting  the 
noblest  and  most  beautiful  of  their  young  men  and 
maidens,  and  devoting  them  to  slaughter  with  im- 
posing religious  rites. 

This  is  one  aspect  of  the  question  before  us.  It 
has  another  of  kindred  significance.  The  literature 
of  all  nations  abounds  with  allusions  to  the  bondage 
in  which  man  is  held  by  sin,  and  the  necessity  of  de- 
liverance from  it.  The  burden  which  you  and  I  feel 
is  not  peculiar  to  us,  nor  to  the  people  of  Christian 
lands.  Earnest  and  thoughtful  men,  who  never  saw 
the  first  glimmer  of  light  from  the  Sun  of  righteous- 
ness, have  felt  and  deplored  it.  They  have  de- 
scribed, as  we  describe,  the  fierce  contest  between 
the  good  and  the  evil  principles  in  the  breast.  They 
have  mourned  their  subjection  to  their  inferior  appe- 

13 


146        Christ,  the  Desire  of  all  Nations. 

tites.  They  have  sighed  for  deh'verance  from  this 
cruel  thraldom;  for  freedom  from  the  tyranny  of  sin. 
This  is  the  other  aspect  of  the  question. 

Now,  in  neither  of  these  relations  has  man  been 
able  to  annul  the  curse  or  to  escape  from  it.  In  rare 
instances  a  patient  adherence  to  the  maxims  of  some 
philosophic  school  has  relaxed  the  fetters  of  sin.  In 
still  more,  the  blood  of  a  victim  has  brought  tran- 
sient peace  of  conscience.  But  there  has  been  no 
general  and  permanent  relief  Sin  has  still  ruled  the 
soul  with  a  rod  of  iron.  Conscience  has  still  clam- 
ored. And  the  race  has  struggled  on  under  its 
crushing  sorrows,  longing  for  a  true  expiation  and 
an  actual  deliverance. 

The  expiation  has  been  made.  The  deliverance 
has  come.  In  tlie  Cross  of  Christ  there  is  that  which 
will  satisfy  even  these  yearnings, — the  deepest,  the 
saddest,  the  most  abiding,  the  most  universal,  known 
to  fallen  humanity.  "  Christ  Jesus  came  into  the 
world  to  save  sinners,  even  the  chief"  Here  is  the 
sublime  and  precious  truth  that  man  has  been  grop- 
ing after  all  adown  the  ages;  the  truth  which  so 
many  breaking  hearts  have  waited  for  through  the 
weary  vigils  of  a  long  night  of  pagan  darkness. 
Stay  the  uplifted  axe.  God  needs  not  your  victims. 
"All  the  beasts  of  the  forest  are  His,  and  the  cattle 
upon  a  thousand  hills."  "  Will  the  Lord  be  pleased 
with  thousands   of  rams,  or  with  ten  thousands  of 


Christ,  the  Desire  of  all  Nations.       147 

rivers  of  oil  ?  Shall  I  give  my  first-born  for  my 
transgression?  the  fruit  of  my  body  for  the  sin  of 
my  soul?"  Alas,  these  sacrifices  have  too  often 
been  offered,  and  He  "  would  not  away  with  them." 
There  is  His  sacrifice, — on  the  cross.  That  blood 
has  an  infinite  value.  It  cries  to  heaven  for  mercy. 
It  takes  away  sin.  It  takes  away  all  sin.  It  makes 
the  scarlet  soul  like  snow,  and  the  crimson  like 
wool.  It  avails  for  the  Jew  and  for  the  Gentile.  It 
brings  pardon  and  it  brings  peace.  It  breaks  the 
dominion  of  sin  in  the  breast.  It  insures  deliver- 
ance as  well  from  the  inward  reign  of  depravity  as 
from  its  outward  curse.  And  in  the  end,  it  insures 
to  the  once  enslaved  and  loathsome  sinner  a  heaven 
of  perfect  purity  and  everlasting  joy. 

Thus  fully  are  the  essential  wants  of  the  soul  met 
by  the  sacrifice  of  the  Son  of  God;  and  we  claim  for 
Him,  therefore,  this  honored  title  of  the  "  Desire  of 
all  nations." 

It  has  now  been  shown  that  among  the  deep- 
seated  and  universal  sentiments  of  the  human  race 
are  these,  to  wit: — They  desire  a  competent  and 
infallible  Teacher.  They  desire  a  clearer  manifes- 
tation of  the  Deity.  And  they  desire  a  true 
atonement  for  sin,  and  complete  deliverance  from 
its  servitude  and  corruption.  These  longings  of 
humanity  (and  if  the  time  would  permit  others 
might  be  specified)  are  thoroughly  met  and  satis- 


148        Christ,  the  Desire  of  all  Nations. 

fied  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  prove  Him  to  be  "  the 
Desire  of  all  nations." 

Our  prophet,  writing  five  hundred  years  before 
the  advent,  says,  "  The  Desire  of  all  nations  sJiall 
coined  You  would  naturally  expect  me  to  speak  of 
His  actual  coming.  But  we  have  been  so  long  be- 
guiled by  the  august  and  touching  title  under  which 
He  is  here  presented  to  us,  that  a  few  words  only 
can  be  devoted  to  His  advent. 

As  regards  the  time  of  His  coming,  reference  has 
already  been  made  to  the  statement  in  the  context, 
that  it  was  to  be  while  the  temple,  then  about  to  be 
built,  was  standing.  This  is  one  of  the  texts  upon 
which  we  rely  in  our  controversy  with  the  Jews. 
They  are  looking  for  a  Messiah  yet  to  come.  Hag- 
gai  tells  them  that  their  Messiah  was  to  come  dur- 
ing the  period  of  the  second  temple ;  and  that  His 
presence  would  make  "  the  glory  of  this  latter  house 
greater  than  of  the  former."  It  is  an  established 
historical  fact  that  the  Jews  themselves  expected 
the  Messiah  to  appear  in  this  temple,  down  to  the 
time  when  Vespasian  destroyed  it  Their  posterity, 
to  evade  the  force  of  the  testimony  from  this  predic- 
tion, allege  that  the  temple  in  which  Jesus  appeared 
was  not  this  but  a  third  temple,  erected  by  Herod. 
The  answer  is,  that  this  temple  was  never  wholly 
destroyed ;  that  Herod  repaired  it,  and  no  doubt  re- 
built portions  of  the  edifice  ;  that  this  is  evident  from 


Christ,  the  Desire  of  all  Nations.        149 

the  fact  that,  during  the  entire  "forty-six  years"  in 
which  he  was  engaged  in  this  work,  there  was  a 
temple  at  Jerusalem  in  which  the  worship  of  God 
was  conducted;  and  that,  in  point  of  fact,  the  Jews 
of  those  days  made  no  distinction  between  the  tem- 
ple of  Zerubbabel  and  that  of  Herod,  but  referred  to 
them  as  one  and  the  same  temple. 

There  are  various  other  prophecies  which  bear 
upon  the  question  of  the  period  appointed  for  the 
advent;  but  it  will  not  be  necessary  to  cite  them 
here.  It  will  be  more  to  our  purpose  to  advert 
briefly  to  the  manner  of  the  Messiah's  coming. 

This,  too,  was  distinctly  pointed  out  by  the  pen  of 
prophecy,  especially  in  those  remarkable  predictions, 
"  A  virgin  shall  conceive  and  bear  a  Son,  and  shall 
call  his  name  Immanuel"  (Isa.  vii.  14);  and  "Unto 
us  a  child  is  born,  unto  us  a  Son  is  given,"  etc.  (Isa. 
ix.  6).  Yet  no  one  of  Haggai's  time,  interpreting  his 
language  of  the  Messiah,  could  well  have  supposed 
that  He  would  so  come.  Nay,  it  seems  very  won- 
derful to  us  before  whom  the  whole  history  has  been 
enrolled.  The  inspired  portraiture  presents  Him  to 
us  as  the  "Desire  of  all  nations;"  as  a  Teacher, 
Leader,  Deliverer,  Saviour,  and  Comforter,  who  was 
the  yearning  of  all  hearts ;  whose  coming,  therefore, 
would  be  the  great  event  of  the  ages ;  the  transac- 
tion which,  as  might  be  presumed,  would  gather 
upon  itself  the  profound  attention  and  the  deepest 

13* 


150        Christ,  the  Desire  of  all  Nations. 

sympathies  of  the  whole  world.  Men  of  that  day- 
would  ask, — they  did  disk, — with  an  absorbing  inter- 
est, "  Where  and  how  will  the  '  Desire  of  all  nations' 
make  His  appearance  ?"  And  zve  marvel  afresh  as 
often  as  we  turn  to  Bethlehem  and  behold  "  the  De- 
sire of  all  nations"  lying  a  helpless  infant  in  that 
manger. 

Step  into  that  crowded  caravansary,  and  you  will 
exclaim  with  the  apostle,  "  Great  is  the  mystery  of 
godliness !"  What  wonders  meet  and  mingle  in 
this  child!  Holding  in  your  hand,  not  the  full  blaze 
of  prophecy,  but  the  single  taper  before  us,  how  in- 
comprehensible does  it  seem  that  the  most  intense 
longings  of  all  nations  should  be  pointing  uncon- 
sciously to  this  sleeping  babe;  that  the  sun  in  his 
radiant  circuit  should  shine  upon  no  palace  and  no 
hovel  from  which  the  winds  of  heaven,  as  they  sweep 
by,  do  not  waft  a  pensive  sigh  towards  this  gentle 
infant;  that  in  this  tiny  frame  there  should  be  gar- 
nered up  treasures  of  wisdom  and  love  and  sympa- 
thy enough  to  fill  to  overflowing  all  human  bosoms  ; 
and  that  we  should  be  told  of  a  day  in  the  distant 
future  when  myriads  of  ransomed  sinners  shall  go 
up  in  shining  robes,  and  proclaim  to  an  assembled 
universe  that  this  child  was  the  Desire  of  their 
hearts,  and  in  Him  their  every  craving  had  been 
satisfied :  nay,  that  after  they  were  all  satisfied,  the 
fulness  of  grace  and  love  that  dwelt  in  Him  was  no 


Christ,  the  Desire  of  all  Nations.       151 

more  impaired  than  is  the  splendor  of  the  sun  by 
the  beams  with  which  he  floods  the  globe  in  a 
single  diurnal  revolution. 

And  yet,  while  we  wonder,  we  perceive  and  ad- 
mire the  mingled  wisdom  and  benevolence  of  this 
provision.  It  was  the  gracious  design  of  our  Heav- 
enly Father,  not  simply  to  save  His  people  from 
their  sins,  but  to  save  them  in  a  way  which  should 
invest  their  deliverance  with  its  highest  possible  in- 
terest and  value.  This  end  has  been  effectually 
secured  by  the  arrangement  we  have  been  contem- 
plating. To  the  attributes  of  the  Godhead  our  Re- 
deemer adds  not  only  the  human  nature,  but  a  per- 
sonal experience  of  life  through  its  several  stages 
and  its  countless  vicissitudes.  And  thus  He  has  be- 
come a  "  merciful  and  faithful  High-Priest,"  "  like 
unto  His  brethren,"  a  sharer  of  their  temptations 
and  trials.  This  makes  salvation  doubly  precious 
to  us.  Is  there  any  Christian  mother  who,  as  she 
looks  upon  her  infant,  is  not  cheered  by  the  reflec- 
tion that  Jesus  was  once  cradled  in  a  mother's  arms? 
Is  it  not  a  sweet  encouragement  to  the  young  to  go 
with  freedom  to  the  Saviour,  that  they  know  He 
was  once  a  child?  Does  it  not  hallow  our  house- 
hold ties  and  pleasures  to  I'emember  that  He  spent 
the  greater  part  of  His  days  within  the  sacred  pre- 
cincts of  a  family  circle?  And  do  not  the  tempted 
and    troubled    of  every   name    find    comfort    in  the 


152        Christ,  the  Desire  of  all  Nations. 

thought,  that  He  has  made  the  entire  pilgrimage  of 
life,  from  childhood  to  maturity,  and  tasted  of  all  its 
sorrows  ?  Let  us  bless  God,  then,  that  the  "  Desire 
of  all  nations"  did  stoop  to  be  "  made  of  a  woman," 
and  to  enter  the  world  as  the  Babe  of  Bethlehem. 

But  we  must  not  pursue  this  theme.  It  is  time  to 
suggest  one  or  two  lessons,  by  way  of  turning  the 
subject  to  some  practical  account. 

It  is  quite  apparent  that  if  Christ  be  the  "  Desire 
(even  the  unconscious  desire)  of  all  nations,"  then  no 
nation  can  enjoy  true  and  permanent  prosperity  except 
by  receiving  and  honoring  Him.  The  real  doctrine 
of  this  Scripture  is,  that  nothing  can  take  the  place 
of  Christ.  A  nation  may  have  wealth  and  intelli- 
gence, power  and  splendor,  but  if  it  reject  His  reign, 
"  Ichabod"  is  written  upon  its  glory.  The  nation  or 
kingdom  that  will  not  serve  Him  shall  perish.  The 
Jews  in  their  blindness  cried,  "  We  will  not  have  this 
man  to  reign  over  us ;"  and  for  eighteen  centuries 
they  have  been  without  a  country  or  an  organized 
government.  Other  nations  have  refused  Him  their 
homage,  and  He  has  given  them  over  to  the  tyranny 
of  their  own  passions,  to  internal  strife  and  foreign 
aggression.  Can  any  Christian  doubt  that  we  have 
suffered  because  of  our  unfaithfulness  to  Christ,  the 
Head  of  all  principality  and  power?  Because  we 
have  not  sought  and  cherished  Him  as  our  great 
"  Desire  ;"  have  not  been  careful  to  guard  His  rights; 


Christ,  the  Desire  of  all  Nations.       153 

have  contemned  His  authority;  have  ofTfered  to  our 
own  wisdom  and  might  the  sacrifices  which  were  due 
to  Him  alone?  Never  until  we  return  to  Him  can 
we  look  for  true  peace  and  lasting  prosperity. 

Again,  if  Christ  be  the  "  Desire  of  all  nations," 
then  the  cause  of  Missions  deserves  our  support  as  the 
great  interest  of  earth. 

Two-thirds  or  three-fourths  of  the  race  are  still 
sitting  in  darkness.  They  are  longing  and  sighing 
for  a  Deliverer,  and  there  is  no  Deliverer  for  them  but 
Jesus  of  Nazareth.  His  name  never  fell  upon  their 
ears.  But  it  is  for  Him  they  are  yearning.  Nor 
they  only.  All  peoples,  Christian  as  well  as  pagan, 
stand  in  equal  need  of  Him  :  all  desire  Him.  He 
alone  can  cure  the  world's  maladies.  He  alone  can 
bring  salvation  to  the  nations.  It  is  our  privilege  to 
make  Him  known  to  them.  This  is  our  prime  duty 
to  them  and  to  Him.  A  godlike  service  it  is  to  min- 
ister such  relief  to  our  perishing  fellow-creatures;  to 
point  them  to  One  who  can  satisfy  their  restless 
cravings  after  happiness,  and  lift  them  up  out  of  the 
depths  of  misery  and  crime  to  the  dignity  and  fe- 
licity of  sons  of  God.  Can  you  deny  the  Missionary 
cause  your  sympathy,  or  be  content  with  a  meagre 
and  reluctant  support  of  it?  This  cause  must  and 
will  prosper.  In  the  end  it  will  achieve  a  glorious 
triumph.  "  The  Desire  of  all  nations"  will  one  day 
be  hailed  by  all  nations  as  their  Lord.     "  He  shall 


154        Christy  the  Desire  of  all  Nations, 

be  as  the  light  of  the  morning,  when  the  sun  riseth, 
even  a  morning  without  clouds."  "  The  Gentiles 
shall  come  to  His  light,  and  kings  to  the  brightness 
of  His  rising."  "  Men  shall  worship  Him,  every  one 
from  his  place,  even  all  the  isles  of  the  heathen." 
And  in  that  day  it  will  not  much  comfort  you  to  re- 
flect that  you  took  no  part  in  helping  on  this  glorious 
millennium. 

But  our  subject  comes  still  nearer  home.  If  Christ 
be  "  the  Desire  of  all  nations,"  wJiat  is  He  to  lis 
individually?  Is  He  the  Desire  of  ^//r hearts?  This 
question  is  vital.  Heaven  and  hell  hang  upon  it. 
In  God's  esteem,  the  test  of  character  is  not  what  we 
may  be  in  race  or  color,  in  social  position,  in  mental 
culture,  in  religious  profession,  but  what  we  are 
Christ-ward.  That  we  all  have  earnest  and  perma- 
nent desires  which  can  be  satisfied  only  in  Him,  has 
already  been  shown.  But  with  us,  unlike  the  heathen 
who  have  the  mere  light  of  nature  to  guide  them, 
these  desires  must  point  consciously  to  Christ.  We 
must  desire  Him  in  all  His  offices,  not  only  as  our 
Prophet  to  instruct,  and  our  High-Priest  to  atone  for 
us,  but  as  our  King,  to  set  up  His  throne  in  our 
hearts,  and  put  His  gentle  yoke  upon  our  necks,  and 
control  our  every  act  and  word  and  thought.  We 
must  desire  Him  with  a  vehement  and  operative  de- 
sire,— a  desire  which  shall  pervade  the  whole  char- 
acter, and  reveal  itself  in  a  faithful  obedience  to  His 


Christ,  the  Desire  of  all  Nations.       155 

commands,  and  the  culture  of  all  the  graces  He 
enjoins.  We  must  desire  Him  with  the  feeling  that 
He  is  the  "  one  thing  needful ;  that  He  must  be  ours, 
and  that  to  miss  of  Him  would  be  a  calamity  for 
which  the  acquisition  of  "  the  whole  world"  would 
be  no  equivalent. 

If  Christ  be  our  "  Desire"  in  some  such  way  as 
this,  we  may  prepare  to  rejoice  with  Him  in  the  day 
when  "all  kings  shall  fall  down  before  Him,  and  all 
nations  serve  Him." 

But  if  you  are  utter  strangers  to  this  feeling;  if 
after  having  heard  of  Christ  from  your  cradles  up 
you  still  "  see  no  beauty  in  Him  that  you  should 
desire  Him,"  what  blindness  must  have  settled  upon 
your  minds !  what  ingratitude  and  obduracy  have 
taken  possession  of  your  hearts !  Sad  enough  will 
it  be  if  when  you  stand  at  His  bar  He  shall  have 
no  desire  iox yoii, — sad  enough  if  the  rejoicings  with 
which  you  now  hail  the  return  of  the  Christmas 
Festival  should  terminate  in  endless,  hopeless  sorrow 
that  you  ever  heard  of  a  Saviour's  birth  ! 


GOD  THE  ONLY  ADEQUATE  PORTION 
OF  THE  SOUL. 


Psalm  Ixxiii.  25. 


"  Whom  have  I  in  lieavoi  but  Thcc  ?  and  there  is  none 
7ipon  earth  that  I  desire  beside  Thee." 

The  writer  of  this  Psalm  had  been  painfully  per- 
plexed, as  many  persons  are  still,  with  the  apparent 
incongruity  between  certain  providential  arrange- 
ments and  the  perfections  of  the  Deity.  He  could 
not  reconcile  the  prosperity  of  the  wicked  with  the 
righteous  sovereignty  of  God.  But  when  he  "came 
to  the  Sanctuary"  and  learned  what  was  to  be  their 
"end;"  when  he  found  that  all  the  inequalities  of 
the  present  life  would  be  adjusted  hereafter;  he  was 
more  than  satisfied ;  he  was  ashamed  and  humbled 
at  his  misgivings.  He  accounts  it  as  a  mercy  that 
he  had  not  been  cast  off  for  his  unbelief  and  stu- 
pidity. And  with  a  heart  overflowing  with  grati- 
tude, he  protests  anew  his  confidence  in  the  faithful- 
ness of  God,  and  his  entire  devotion  to  His  service. 
156 


Gody  the  Portion  of  the  Soul.  157 

"  Thou  shalt  guide  me  with  Thy  counsel,  and  after- 
wards receive  me  to  glory.  Whom  have  I  in 
heaven  but  Thee  ?  and  there  is  none  upon  earth  I 
desire  beside  Thee.  My  flesh  and  my  heart  faileth  ; 
but  God  is  the  strength  of  my  heart,  and  my  portion 
forever." 

The    theme    presented    in    the    text  is,   God  the 

ONLY  PROPER  AND  ADEQUATE  PORTION  OF  THE  SOUL; 

a  theme  which  it  will  require  eternity  to  unfold,  but 
which  may  well  be  a  frequent,  as  it  must  be  a 
profitable,  subject  of  our  meditations  here. 

Ever  since  the  apostasy  the  cry  of  mankind  has 
been,  "Who  will  show  us  any  good?"  In  all  ages, 
in  all  lands,  with  all  tribes  and  all  professions  of 
men,  the  eager,  restless,  unsatisfied  demand  has 
been,  "  Who  will  show  us  any  good  ?"  Our  text 
supplies  the  only  answer  to  this  universal  craving  of 
humanity. 

I.  God  is  the  proper  portion  of  the  soul,  because 
He  is  the  only  underived  and  absolute  good. 

"  Why  callest  thou  me  good?"  said  our  Saviour 
to  the  young  ruler:  "None  is  good  save  One,  that 
is  God."  His  meaning  was  that  God  alone  is  good 
essentially  and  in  Himself;  and  that  none  other  is 
good  in  comparison  with  Him.  In  a  subordinate 
sense,  many  of  His  rational  creatures  are  good  ;  all 
of  them,  indeed,  of  whom  we  have  any  knowledge, 
except   man   and  the  lost  angels ;   and  man,  as  re- 

14 


158  God,  the  Portio7i  of  the  Soul. 

nevved,  has  a  spark  of  goodness  in  him  which  will 
burn  and  shine  forever.  But  all  this  is  derived  good- 
ness. As  the  planets  glow  with  borrowed  light,  so 
men  and  angels  are  arrayed  in  reflected  or  trans- 
mitted holiness.  Their  purity  is  but  the  streams  ; 
God  is  the  Fountain.  Whatever  of  virtue  and  truth, 
of  moral  worth  and  spiritual  beauty,  there  may  be  in 
any  part  of  the  universe,  among  our  race  or  other 
races,  all  must  be  referred  to  Him  as  its  source. 
Even  those  elevated  traits,  occasionally  detected 
among  the  untutored  heathen,  the  benevolent  and 
manly  qualities  which  elicit  general  admiration,  are 
but  scattered  and  diluted  emanations  from  His  good- 
ness, broken  and  feeble  rays  of  the  Sun  of  righteous- 
ness gleaming  here  and  there  amidst  the  depths  of 
human  depravity  and  misery. 

Nor  are  the  highest  forms  of  earthly  goodness  free 
from  defect.  None  are  wholly  good.  The  loveliest 
characters  have  their  frailties.  Those  who  walk 
with  God  sometimes  falter.  The  utmost  that  can  be 
claimed  for  any  of  our  race  is,  that  they  excel  in 
certain  graces ;  or  that  in  the  main  they  are  assimi- 
lated to  God  and  breathe  the  spirit  of  heaven. 

But  His  goodness  is  without  a  stain.  It  has  no 
imperfection,  and  knows  no  abatement.  Theirs  may 
change.  Even  the  angels  are  not  in  themselves 
indefectible.  A  part  of  them,  once  holy,  have  lost 
their  holiness;  and  the  same  catastrophe  might  over- 


God,  the  Portion  of  the  Soul.  159 

take  the  rest,  were  not  the  everlasting  arms  under- 
neath them.  His  excellence,  however,  is  of  the  very 
essence  of  His  being: 

*'  He  sits  on  no  precarious  throne. 
Nor  Ijorrows  leave  to  be;" 

and  His  goodness  partakes  of  the  immutability  of 
His  nature  :  it  can  no  more  fail  than  He  Himself  can 
cease  to  exist.  God  is,  therefore,  the  only  undefived 
and  absolute  good ;  and  as  such,  the  proper  portion 
of  the  soul. 

2.  He  is  a  good  adapted  to  the  nature  and  necessi- 
ties of  tJie  soul. 

This  needs  no  other  proof  than  the  fact  that  man 
was  made  originally  in  the  Divine  image;  and  what- 
ever changes  may  have  occurred  in  his  character 
and  condition,  his  nature  is  unchanged.  A  sick 
man  is  still  a  man  ;  and  a  soul,  dislocated  and  ener- 
vated by  sin,  is  still  a  soul.  As  such  it  can  find  its 
supreme  happiness  only  in  God.  Like  seeks  its  like. 
A  spiritual  being  must  have  a  spiritual  portion. 
While  allied  to  a  sentient,  physical  frame-work,  and 
the  tenant  of  a  material  world,  its  tastes  and  pursuits 
will  be  in  keeping  with  its  circumstances.  But  its  in- 
herent, constitutional  desires,  those  which  pertain  to 
it  equally  in  the  body  and  out  of  the  body,  can  never 
find  their  full  gratification  in  objects  of  sense.  These 
desires  demand  a  spiritual  good.     With  the  renewed 


1 60  God,  the  Portion  of  the  Soul. 

soul  they  demand  a  portion  that  is  holy  as  well  as 
spiritual.  Such  a  soul  can  no  more  be  satisfied  with 
any  of  the  common  objects  of  pursuit  among  men 
than  the  body  can  be  nourished  upon  sentiment  and 
fancy.  Its  craving  for  something  radically  different 
in  kind,  as  well  as  higher  and  better,  springs  neither 
from  caprice  nor  education,  but  from  the  organic 
law  of  its  being.  The  Creator  has  so  constituted  us 
that  we  can  find  true  peace  and  content  only  in 
Himself  In  the  ever-increasing  knowledge  of  God, 
and  an  ever-growing  conformity  to  God,  the  soul 
is  satisfied.  This  is  the  nourishment  for  which  it 
yearns ;  and  here  it  possesses  the  only  portion 
which  can  cure  it  of  its  restlessness. 

Were  it  needful,  we  might  cite  on  this  point  the 
involuntary  testimony  of  men  of  the  world.  The 
coveted  wealth  is  secured ;  the  hard-earned  chaplet 
is  won ;  but  there  is  a  void  within  .still,  a  conscious 
void  which  these  can  neither  appease  nor  beguile. 
There  is  no  solid  peace  for  the  soul  until  it  is 
able  to  say,  "Whom  have  I  in  heaven  but  Thee? 
And  there  is  none  upon  earth  that  I  desire  beside 
Thee." 

3.  This  M'ill  be  further  evident  from  considering 
that  God  is  an  infinite  good. 

It  may  seem  strong  language,  but  humble  as  is 
the  place  assigned  to  man  in  the  scale  of  intelligent 
beings,  nothing  .short  of  an  infinite  good  can  fully 


God,  the  Poi'tion  of  the  Soul.  i6i 

meet  the  exigencies  of  his  nature.  Of  this  we  have 
a  clear  intimation  in  the  familiar  fact  just  adverted 
to,  the  sense  of  insufficiency  which  attaches  to  all 
human  pursuits.  "  All  things  are  full  of  labor :  man 
cannot  utter  it :  the  eye  is  not  satisfied  with  seeing, 
nor  the  ear  filled  with  hearing."  "  He  that  loveth 
silver  shall  not  be  satisfied  with  silver,  nor  he  that 
loveth  abundance  with  increase."  Undoubtedly 
there  is  enough  in  the  objects  and  interests  of  this 
life  to  stimulate  our  passions  and  stir  us  up  to  a 
pleasurable  activity;  and  he  must  be  lacking  either 
in  penetration  or  in  candor  who  can  deny  that  there 
is  a  great  deal  of  enjoyment  and,  if  you  will,  of  hap- 
piness derived  from  mere  earthly  avocations  and 
possessions.  But  this  is  quite  compatible  with  the 
statement  that  worldly  prosperity  is  very  often  at- 
tended with  a  secret  satiety  and  disgust;  and  cer- 
tainly with  the  doctrine  that  there  is  nothing  in  the 
aims  and  occupations  of  this  life  which  could  afford 
the  soul  durable  and  complete  satisfaction.  If  under 
the  most  propitious  circumstances  the  confession  is 
often  extorted  from  the  pampered  children  of  for- 
tune which  fell  from  the  lips  of  the  most  accom- 
plished and  powerful  potentate  of  his  age,  "  Vanity 
of  vanities,  all  is  vanity!"  how  apparent  must  it  be 
that  the  soul  will  demand  for  its  eternal  dowry  some 
portion  transcending  in  extent  and  value  all  that  this 
world  has  to  offer  !     Its  rational  and  moral  powers, 

14* 


1 62  God,  the  Portion  of  the  Soul. 


even  when  matured  with  the  liighest  culture  and 
carried  up  to  the  standard  of  a  Newton  or  a  Bacon, 
are  still  in  their  infancy  in  this  life.  The  process  of 
development  and  expansion,  commenced  here,  must 
go  on  with  their  being.  The  loftiest  attainments 
made  on  earth  will  one  day  seem  as  the  scanty  rudi- 
ments of  the  nursery  appeared  to  them  at  death. 
And  it  is  reasonable  to  presume  that  they  will  ad- 
vance in  the  acquisition  of  knowledge  until  they 
soar  beyond  the  successive  gradations  which  now 
mark  the  sublime  endowments  of  the  loftiest  angels. 
It  will  not  do  to  fix  limits  to  the  possible  acquisi- 
tions of  an  intelligence  like  the  human  soul.  The 
authoritative  announcement  that  a  period  might 
come,  though  millions  of  ages  distant,  when  it 
would  reach  the  extreme  boundary  of  knowledge 
and  know  all  that  ever  could  be  known,  would  ex- 
cite emotions  of  surprise  and  mortification  even  now 
in  every  breast  which  has  awoke  to  the  conscious- 
ness of  its  powers.  While  there  is  nothing  with 
which  we  are  more  profoundly  impressed  than  our 
inability  to  compass  the  great  ocean  of  truth  that  is 
spread  out  before  us,  and  especially  to  sound  the 
depths  of  the  Divine  Nature,  we  would  not,  for 
worlds  upon  worlds,  have  it  otherwise.  We  require 
an  illimitable,  incomprehensible  God. 

"  Could  we  conceive  Him,  God  He  could  not  be ; 
Or  He  not  God,  or  we  could  not  be  men." 


God,  the  Portion  of  the  Soul.  1 63 

The  mind  loves  to  lose  itself  in  the  infinitude  of  His 
being.  And  in  this  very  attribute  devotion  finds 
one  of  its  chief  supports.  Who  that  has  emerged 
from  the  foul  degeneracy  of  paganism  could  worship 
a  god  capable  of  being  described  or  conceived  ? 
The  moment  a  pretended  deity  is  brought  within 
the  sweep  of  our  measuring  lines,  he  ceases  to  be  a 
deity  to  us.  The  sentiment  of  reverence  palsies  be- 
fore a  finite  god.  And  if  such  a  god  were  on  the 
throne,  there  would  be  no  anthems  in  heaven. 

But  no  such  Being  fills  the  throne.  "  Behold  God 
is  great  and  we  know  Him  not,  neither  can  the  num- 
ber of  His  years  be  searched  out."  "  The  Lord  is  a 
great  God,  and  a  great  King  above  all  gods."  "The 
great,  the  mighty  God,  the  Lord  of  Hosts  is  His 
name,  great  in  counsel  and  mighty  in  work."  "  Great 
is  our  God,  and  of  great  power  :  His  understanding 
is  infinite."  "  Canst  thou  by  searching  find  out  God? 
Canst  thou  find  out  the  Almighty  unto  perfection? 
It  is  as  high  as  heaven  ;  what  canst  thou  do?  Deeper 
than  hell ;  what  canst  thou  know  ?" 

"Alone,  Invisible,  Immortal  One  I 

What  know  we  more 
Of  Thee,  what  need  to  know,  than  thou  hast  taught, 
And  bid'st  us  still  repeat  at  morn  and  even? 
God  !     Everlasting  Father !     Holy  One  ! 
Our  God,  our  Father,  our  Eternal  All ! 
Source  whence  we  came,  and  whither  we  return ; 
Who  made  our  spirits,  who  our  bodies  made. 


1 64  God,  the  Portion  of  the  Soul. 

Who  made  the  heaven,  who  made  the  flovveiy  land. 
Who  made  all  made,  who  orders,  governs  all; 
Who  walks  upon  the  wind,  who  holds  the  wave 
In  hollow  of  Thy  hand ;  whom  thunders  wait. 
Whom  tempests  serve,  whom  flaming  fires  obey; 
Who  guides  the  circuit  of  the  endless  years, 
And  sit'st  on  high  and  mak'st  creation's  top 
Thy  footstool,  and  behold'st  below  Thee,  all — 
All  nought,  all  less  than  nought,  and  vanity."  * 

Here  is  a  God  we  can  adore.  Here  the  intense 
longings  of  the  soul  are  satisfied.  In  this  august, 
ever-present,  all-seeing,  all-controlling  Divinity,  our 
minds  repose  with  the  assurance  that  His  nature 
is  not  only  suited  to  our  nature,  but  absolutely 
boundless  and  unsearchable.  As  we  meditate  upon 
His  perfections,  our  contemplations  are  disturbed  by 
no  intrusive  fear  that  a  period  may  arrive  when  we 
shall  have  explored  every  part  of  His  being,  and 
"found  out  the  Almighty  unto  perfection."  Our 
confidence  is  as  firm  as  it  is  joyful,  that  the  infinite 
disparity  there  is  between  His  being  and  our  own 
will  never  be  lessened;  and  that  whatever  attain- 
ments we  may  make  in  knowledge,  in  holiness,  or 
in  happiness,  we  shall  not  have  advanced  a  single 
step  towards  exhausting  the  fulness  of  the  God- 
head. 

4.  This  of  course  implies  that  God  is  an  eternal 

*  Pollock,  B.  vi. 


God,  the  Portion  of  the  Soul.  165 


good, — which   may  be  mentioned   as   another  proof 
that  He  is  the  only  adequate  portion  for  the  soul. 

However  suitable  a  possession  might  be  to  our 
capacities,  or  however  measureless  in  its  extent,  it 
would  be  no  fit  heritage  for  us  unless  it  were  immor- 
tal. We  need  a  portion  as  indestructible  as  we  are 
ourselves.  So  reason  and  revelation  unite  in  teach- 
ing. And  the  fatal  mistake  which  men  make,  lies  in 
overlooking  this.  What  are  riches  and  honors  as  an 
endowment  for  the  soul?  "As  he  came  forth  from 
his  mother's  womb,  naked  shall  he  return  to  go  as  he 
came,  and  shall  take  nothing  of  his  labor  which  he 
may  carry  away  in  his  hand."  Is  Dives  the  better 
off  now  for  his  purple  and  fine  linen  ?  Is  Belshazzar 
the  better  off  for  his  throne  and  diadem  ?  There  is 
a  writing  upon  the  wall  over  against  all  this  world's 
pageantry ;  but  men's  eyes  are  holden,  and  they  do 
not  see  it.  The  instant  the  silver  cord  is  loosed  and 
the  golden  bowl  broken,  they  have  to  see  it.  Then 
the  appalling  discovery  is  forced  upon  them  that  they 
are  portionless  forever  !  But  the  stroke  which  severs 
them  from  their  portion  consummates  the  investi- 
ture of  the  Christian  with  his.  As  the  gifts  and  call- 
ing of  God  are  without  repentance  (or  change  of 
mind),  so  when  He  says  to  a  creature,  "  I  will  be  thy 
God,"  it  is  an  irreversible  and  inalienable  grant.  He 
will  not  annul  it,  and  no  other  can.  It  is  written  in 
the  bond,  "  I  will  never  leave  thee,  nor  forsake  thee." 


1 66  God,  the  Portion  of  the  Soul. 

And  the  humblest  believer  may  use  those  majestic 
words,  in  comparison  with  which  all  the  titles  and 
demesnes  of  royalty  are  but  gilded  nothings,  "This 
God  is  our  God  for  ever  and  ever." 

5.  As  the  crowning  argument  to  show  that  God  is 
the  proper  portion  of  the  soul,  it  may  be  added  that 
He  is  a  most  coinpreJiensivc  good. 

Where  He  gives  Himself,  He  gives  every  other 
good.  The  very  first  line  of  the  Christian's  charter, 
"  I  will  be  thy  God,"  comprises  all  that  follows.  It 
is  not  necessary  to  prove  that  a  wise  and  affectionate 
father  will  feed  and  clothe  and  educate  his  children. 
Can  our  Father  in  heaven  do  less?  Having  the 
ability,  He  must  also  have  the  disposition,  to  do 
everything  for  them  which  their  welfare  may  demand. 
An  earthly  parent  may  err  in  judgment,  or  he  may 
lack  the  means  to  accomplish  his  purposes ;  but 
neither  of  these  contingencies  can  occur  with  God. 
Guided  by  infinite  wisdom  and  goodness,  and  with 
the  resources  of  the  universe  at  His  command,  He 
can  never  fail  to  do  for  His  people  just  what  their 
happiness  may  require.  In  this  sense  we  are  to  un- 
derstand that  saying  of  the  apostle,  "All  things  are 
yours."  Tested  by  a  mere  earthly  standard,  this 
might  be  thought  a  very  random  affirmation ;  the 
more  so  as  he  has  said  in  the  same  Epistle,  "  not 
many  wise,  not  many  mighty,  not  many  noble  are 
called ;    but  God   has   chosen"   for   His    people   the 


God,  the  Portion  of  the  Soul.  167 

"  foolish,"  the  "base,"  and  the  "  weak"  of  this  world. 
But  the  same  apostle  has  again  described  these  poor 
disciples,  himself  among  them,  as  "  having  nothing, 
and  yet  possessing  all  things."  To  those  who  know 
anything  of  the  Scriptures  the  paradox  is  sufficiently 
intelligible.  God  is  the  only  Source  and  Giver  alike 
of  temporal  and  spiritual  blessings.  These  He  be- 
stows upon  His  people  in  the  manner  and  measure 
best  adapted  to  their  circumstances.  Whether  riches 
or  poverty  or  a  competence  be  best  for  them  ;  whether 
health  or  sickness ;  whether  a  tranquil  or  a  troubled 
life;  whether  obscurity  or  renown;  where  they  are 
to  live  and  what  they  are  to  do ;  their  successes  and 
reverses ;  their  joys  and  sorrows ;  all  these  are  mat- 
ters for  Him  to  dispose.  Enough  that  He  has  en- 
gaged never  to  leave  nor  forsake  them  ;  to  make  all 
things  work  together  for  their  good ;  to  bring  them 
off  more  than  conquerors  over  sin  and  death  ;  and 
to  receive  them  at  length  into  His  everlasting  glory. 
This  munificent  dowry  belongs  to  every  child  of  God. 
And  we  claim  for  the  believer's  portion,  therefore, 
the  pre-eminent  distinction,  that  it  comprises  what- 
ever of  real  good  there  may  be  in  the  various  objects 
other  men  covet,  and,  superadded  to  this,  a  glorious 
inheritance  in  reversion,  which  is  "  incorruptible, 
undefiled,  and  that  fadeth  not  away." 

I  have  thus  endeavored  to  illustrate  the  truth  that 


1 6S  God,  the  Portion  of  the  Soul. 

God  is  the  only  proper  and  adequate  portion  of  the 
soul,  by  showing  that  He  is  the  only  underived  attd 
absolute  good ;  a  good  adapted  to  the  necessities  of  our 
spintual  nature;  an  infinite  good;  an  eternal  good ; 
and  (i;  most  comprehensive  good. 

The  Psalmist,  it  will  be  observed,  does  more  than 
affirm  that  God  is  his  portion.  "  Whom  have  I  in 
heaven  but  Thee  ?  And  there  is  none  upon  earth 
that  I  desire  beside  Thee."  He  gives  intensity  to 
the  averment  by  throwing  it  into  this  comparative 
form,  and  protesting  his  love  to  God  above  his  affec- 
tion for  any  creature  in  heaven  or  on  earth.  This 
could  not  be  designed  as  any  disparagement  either 
of  the  pious  dead  or  of  the  living.  Of  the  personal 
history  of  the  writer  of  the  Psalm  (Asaph)  we  know 
very  little.  But  we  cannot  err  in  supposing  that  he 
had  his  earthly  attachments  and  friendships;  and 
that  there  were  many  among  the  ransomed  in  glory 
whose  names  were  sacred  to  him,  and  with  whom 
he  was  hoping  to  be  one  day  united.  But  with  him 
every  other  passion  was  subordinated  to  that  high- 
est and  best  of  all  affections,  love  to  God.  Heaven 
was  heaven  to  him  because  it  was  the  abode  of 
God.  And  earth  was  tolerable  or,  as  might  be, 
joyful  to  him  because  it  was  part  of  God's  domain, 
and  he  was  kept  here  to  do  or  to  suffer  God's 
holy  will.  It  was  the  consideration  of  God  in  one 
or  another  aspect  which  determined  his  principles, 


God,  the  Portioti  of  the  Soul.  1 69 

swayed  his  afifecfions,  and   gave  tone   to  his  whole 
character. 

That  it  becomes  every  one  to  cultivate  this  spirit 
must  be  too  apparent  to  require  argument.  As  God 
is  the  only  adequate  portion  of  the  soul,  so  His 
right  to  our  supreme  veneration  and  homage  is 
plenary  and  irrefragable.  This  right  is  inseparable 
from  the  relations  He  sustains  to  us.  As  our  Cre- 
ator, Preserver,  Governor,  Redeemer,  and  Sanctifier, 
He  has  a  paramount  title  to  our  love  and  obedience; 
a  title  so  strong  that  no  conceivable  combination  of 
circumstances  could  make  it  stronger.  There  may 
be  other  sovereigns  or  magistrates  to  whom  we  owe 
fealty ;  but  no  earthly  power  may  divide  the  alle- 
giance we  owe  to  God.  We  may  have  other  benefac- 
tors ;  but  none  to  compare  with  God.  And  other 
friends;  but  none  so  worthy  of  our  affection  as  God. 
Accordingly,  it  is  our  sentiments  God-ward  which 
determine  our  moral  character  and  condition.  If 
we  are  radically  wrong  here  we  are  wrong  every- 
where. No  benevolence  towards  our  fellow-crea- 
tures can  atone  for  the  want  of  supreme  love  to  the 
Creator.  No  brilliant  example  of  integrity  and  phi- 
lanthropy can  compensate  for  the  absence  of  piety 
towards  God.  "  Though  I  bestow  all  my  goods  to 
feed  the  poor,  and  though  I  give  my  body  to  be 
burned,  and  have  not  love,  it  profiteth  me  nothing." 
Without   this   element  the  mainspring  of  all  godli- 

15 


170  God^  the  Portion  of  the  Soul. 

ness,  the  very  foundation  of  personal  religion,  is 
wanting.  There  may  be  a  character  adorned  with 
many  attractive  qualities ;  but  it  is  still  of  the  "  earth, 
earthy,"  and  must  follow  the  law  which  controls  the 
destiny  of  all  things  earthly.  Until  God  is  en- 
throned in  the  heart  to  the  exclusion  of  every  rival, 
a  fatal  defect  must  attach  to  its  best  virtues  and  per- 
formances. The  great  lesson  to  be  learned,  the  de- 
cisive victory  to  be  won,  is  this :  "  Whom  have  I  in 
heaven  but  Thee  ?  And  there  is  none  upon  earth 
that  I  desire  beside  Thee."  Until  this  principle  is 
lodged  in  the  soul,  whatever  we  may  be  in  the  eyes 
of  men,  we  are  to  Him  who  looks  upon  the  heart 
only  as  sounding  brass  or  a  tinkling  cymbal. 

Nor  are  other  arguments  wanting  to  show  the  im- 
portance of  cultivating  this  spirit.  Nothing  short  of 
this  can,  in  an  equal  degree,  impart  stability  of  char- 
acter and  peace  of  mind.  We  are  for  the  most  part 
the  sport  of  vagrant  passions  or  of  capricious  cir- 
cumstances. We  find  ourselves  among  currents  we 
cannot  control.  If  we  lay  up  our  treasure  here,  we 
are  vexed  with  the  loss  or  harassed  with  the  care 
of  it.  If  we  place  our  affections  here,  they  may  at 
any  moment  be  blighted.  The  wisest  plans  may 
miscarry.  The  surest  props  may  fail  us.  Life  is  with 
most  persons  a  succession  of  undesirable  changes. 
God  alone  is  sufficient  to  fill  our  capacities.  He  only, 
amidst  all  fluctuations,  is  immutable.      He  is  both 


God,  the  Portion  of  the  Soul.  171 

able  and  willing  to  keep  that  which  is  committed  to 
Him.  "  Who  is  God  save  the  Lord  ?  And  who  is 
a  Rock  save  our  God  ?"  "  He  will  ever  be  mindful 
of  His  covenant."  "  Hath  He  said,  and  shall  He 
not  do  it?  or  hath  He  spoken,  and  shall  He  not 
make  it  good  ?"  "  Not  one  thing  hath  failed  [nor 
ever  shall  fail]  of  all  the  good  things  which  the  Lord 
hath  spoken  concerning  Israel." 

This  supplies  the  Refuge  we  all  need.  Helpless, 
wayward,  self-confident,  corruption  within  and  temp- 
tation without,  exposed  to  disease  and  hastening  to 
the  tomb,  how  obvious  is  the  duty,  how  unspeak- 
able the  privilege,  of  committing  our  concerns  into 
His  hands,  and  taking  Him  as  our  portion!  How 
manifest  is  it  that  we  should  hold  all  earthly  bonds 
as  secondary  to  the  ties  which  bind  us  to  God,  and 
even  anticipate  heaven  chiefly  as  His  dwelling- 
place!  And  yet  how  remiss  we  are  in  a  duty  so 
palpable  and  so  urgent !  Three  great  hinderances 
retard  us. 

(i)  There  is  the  strength  of  sin.  The  lesson  we 
have  to  master  is  one  at  which  the  carnal  mind  re- 
volts. "  Whom  have  I  in  earth  or  heaven  but  Thee  ?" 
This  is  altogether  alien  from  flesh  and  blood;  and  it 
comes  in  conflict  with  the  depravity  which  lingers  in 
every  renewed  heart.  The  question  still  is,  "  Who 
shall  reign  ?"  And  although  the  ultimate  issue  is 
not  doubtful,  an  incessant  and  painful  struggle  must 


1 7  2  God,  the  Portion  of  the  Soul. 

be   kept   up   in  order  to  maintain    the  authority  of 
God's  law  in  the  soul. 

(2)  There  is  the  poiver  of  sense.  We  are  required 
to  love  an  unseen  God,  a  Being  whose  spiritual  na- 
ture baffles  our  conceptions.  We  are  required  to 
love  Him  supremely  and  constantly;  to  account  His 
favor  as  our  greatest  blessing;  and  to  choose  His 
glory  above  every  other  aim  and  interest.  As  in 
rivalry  with  these  lofty  and  apparently  impracticable 
demands,  numerous  objects  solicit  our  hearts,  and 
.make  their  appeal  where  we  are  most  accessible, — 
to  our  senses.  Tenants  of  a  material  world,  im- 
mersed in  material  pursuits  and  enjoyments,  and  so 
constituted  that  these  objects  must  exert  a  powerful 
influence  upon  us,  no  feeble  or  transient  effort  can 
disengage  us  from  their  fascinations  and  bind  us 
with  a  grateful  and  confiding  loyalty  to  the  throne 
of  the  invisible  Jehovah,  Not  until  the  Omnipotent 
Spirit  has  new-created  us,  and  implanted  in  our 
breasts  a  divine  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  can  we  thus  re- 
place the  things  which  are  seen  with  the  things  that 
are  unseen.  And  even  then,  after  this  mighty  trans- 
formation has  been  wrought,  and  the  soul  has  been 
indissolubly  united  to  the  Saviour,  there  is  a  per- 
petual tendency  to  fall  back  under  the  dominion  of 
sense  which  no  human  energy  is  able  to  withstand. 
He  who  begins  the  work  must  consummate  it.  Un- 
der His  guidance,  and  in  His  strength,  the  feeblest 


God,  the  Portion  of  the  Soul.  173 

believer  may,  in  the  end,  be  able  to  enter  with  a 
true  sympathy  into  the  feelings  of  the  Psalmist,  and 
exclaim,  "  Whom  have  I  in  earth  or  heaven  but 
Thee?" 

(3)  There  is  the  force  of  earthly  affection.  "It  is 
an  awful  and  an  arduous  thing  to  root  out  every 
affection  for  earthly  things,  so  as  to  live  for  another 
world."  So  wrote  that  man  of  God,  Henry  Martyn, 
in  India,  more  than  a  half-century  ago;  and  they 
know  little  of  Christianity  in  its  experimental  power 
who  cannot  verify  the  remark.  With  Martyn  it  was 
a  sentiment  drawn  from  the  profoundest  and  most 
sacred  depths  of  his  experience.  Few  persons  have 
passed  through  so  fearful  a  trial  as  he  did,  in  having 
"  every  affection  for  earthly  things"  brought  into 
captivity  to  the  obedience  of  Christ.  I  speak  not 
now  of  the  passions  to  which  most  men  are  more 
or  less  enslaved,  and  which  are  justly  reckoned  as 
among  the  chief  barriers  to  salvation.  Avarice,  am- 
bition, sensual  pleasure,  literature, — these  slay  their 
thousands  and  their  tens  of  thousands.  But  it  is  not 
these  only  that  intercept  the  soul's  communion  with 
God,  and  make  it  so  hard  to  say,  "  Whom  have  I  but 
Thee?"  The  affections  become  snares  to  us.  They 
go  out,  not  perhaps  after  forbidden  objects,  but  with 
a  forbidden  vehemence.  There  is  a  practical  forget- 
fulness  of  that  monition,  "  Whoso  loveth  father  or 
mother   more  than   me  is   not   worthy  of   me ;   and 

15* 


1 74  God,  the  Portion  of  the  SotiL 

whoso  lovcth  son  or  daughter  more  than  me  is  not 
worthy  of  me."  The  group  that  sit  around  our 
tables,  the  friends  who  have  grown  upon  our  esteem 
through  a  long  and  cherished  intercourse,  and  by  a 
mutual  fellowship  in  the  trials  of  life,  insensibly  be- 
guile our  affections,  and  usurp  a  place  to  which  they 
have  no  claim. 

"  Our  clearest  joys  and  nearest  friends, 
The  partners  of  our  blood, 
How  they  divide  our  wavering  minds. 
And  leave  but  half  for  God!" 

This  is  true  no  less  of  the  dead  than  of  the  living. 
The  Psalmist  could  say,  "  Whom  have  I  in  heaven 
but  Thee  ?"  And  this  must  be  the  feeling  of  every 
Christian  in  his  better  moments.  His  purest  and 
strongest  aspirations  will  soar  to  God.  Heaven  will 
present  itself  to  his  mind  as  the  habitation  of  God. 
And  to  be  with  God  and  like  God  will  fill  up  his 
conceptions  of  the  perfect  felicity  he  is  anticipating. 
But  there  are  others  in  heaven,  too, — those  whom 
we  loved  in  life  and  still  love  in  death, — nay,  who 
still  live  in  our  heart  of  hearts,  and  will  live  there 
forever.  It  must  add  to  the  attractions  of  heaven 
that  some  of  our  costliest  jewels  are  garnered  there. 
But  is  this  sentiment  always  subordinate — as  it 
should  be  ?  Even  the  sainted  dead  must  not  be 
permitted  to  come  in  between  our   souls  and  God. 


God,  the  Portion  of  the  Soul.  175 

It  is  their  feeling,  now  that  they  stand  and  adore 
before  the  throne,  "  Whom  have  I  in  heaven  but 
Thee  ?"  and  it  should  be  our  feeling  too. 

"  And  there  is  none  upon  earth  that  I  desire  be- 
side Thee."  It  is  their  conscious  inability  to  say 
this  ;  the  ascendency  they  have  allowed  their  earthly 
attachments  to  acquire,  and  the  inroads  which  earthly 
idols  (if  I  may  so  speak)  have  made  upon  their  spir- 
itual affections,  which  chain  very  many  Christians  to 
the  world,  and  deprive  them  of  the  true  enjoyment 
of  religion. 

The  strength  of  sin;  the  power  of  sense;  the  force 
of  natural  affection ; — these  are  the  hinderances 
which  clog  our  upward  flight,  and  forbid  our  ex- 
claiming in  rapture,  "  Whom  have  I  in  earth  or 
heaven  but  Thee?" 

It  is  a  supposable  case,  that  the  prevalent  feeling 
with  no  small  portion  of  those  present,  while  listen- 
ing to  this  discourse,  may  have  been,  "  How  little 
does  that  text  express  my  state  of  mind !  When  I 
think  of  heaven  at  all,  my  mind  dwells  far  more  upon 
its  society,  its  employments,  and  its  happiness,  than 
upon  God.  And  as  to  earth,  instead  of  saying, 
'  There  is  none  upon  earth  that  I  desire  beside  Thee,' 
there  are  numerous  objects  on  which  my  affections 
are  fastened,  in  some  cases,  I  fear,  with  an  intensity 
which  almost  precludes  the  love  of  God." 


176  God,  the  Portion  of  the  Soul. 

If  it  be  thus  with  you,  does  it  never  occur  to  you 
that  the  indisposition  to  think  of  God,  the  unwilling- 
ness to  take  Him  as  one's  portion,  must  betoken  a 
sad  derangement  of  the  moral  condition  of  the  soul  ? 
And  is  there  no  cause  for  alarm  where  one  is  con- 
scious of  setting  the  creature  above  the  Creator,  and 
of  using  the  gifts  of  God  every  hour  without  any 
suitable  acknowledgment  of  the  Giver? 

We  all  hope  to  get  to  heaven.  But  the  best  prep- 
aration for  heaven,  and  the  only  proper  pledge  of  it, 
lies  in  the  culture  of  the  spirit  which  reigns  there ; 
and  this  is  the  spirit  we  have  been  delineating.  To 
the  august  inhabitants  of  that  world,  from  the  loftiest 
seraph  down  to  the  redeemed  infant  which  is  lisping 
its  praises  before  the  throne,  God  is  all  in  all. 
How  can  we  ever  join  them  unless  He  is  "  all  in  all" 
to  us  ?  Nay,  without  this  how  can  we  make  the 
most  of  the  present  life  ?  We  need — we  must  have 
— something  substantial  and  lasting;  and  this  the 
world  has  not  to  give.  "  The  depth  saith,  '  It  is  not 
in  me;'  and  the  sea  saith,  'It  is  not  with  me.'  It 
cannot  be  gotten  for  gold,  neither  shall  silver  be 
weighed  for  the  price  thereof  It  cannot  be  valued 
with  the  gold  of  Ophir,  with  the  precious  onyx,  or 
the  sapphire.  The  gold  and  the  crystal  cannot  equal 
it,  and  the  exchange  of  it  shall  not  be  for  jewels  of 
fine  gold."  Even  this  is  but  a  feeble  statement  of 
the  case.     To  deny  to  gold  and  silver,  the  splendor 


God,  the  Portion  of  the  Soul.  177 

and  honors  of  earth,  any  capacity  to  satisfy  the  crav- 
ings of  the  soul,  may  reach  the  case  of  the  multi- 
tude ;  but  there  are  those  whom  it  will  not  reach. 
These  are  persons  of  a  finer  mould,  of  a  noble  culture, 
of  generous  susceptibilities,  and  of  warm  affections. 
They  are  in  no  danger  of  becoming  idolaters  of 
mammon.  They  have  no  ambition  to  shine  before 
the  world.  But  they  must  have  something  to  love. 
Their  home  is  in  the  empire  of  the  heart.  Love  is 
the  element  they  breathe,  and  they  cannot  be  happy 
without  it.  And  what  is  the  common  allotment  of 
these  persons?  I  will  not  say  a  heritage  of  sorrow, 
because  that  might  be  going  too  far.  But  I  will  say 
that,  while  they  have  more  true  enjoyment  of  life 
than  the  masses  around  them,  while  the  happiness 
they  experience  is  immeasurably  superior  to  that 
derived  from  the  mere  acquisition  of  riches  or  re- 
nown, they  are  certain  to  encounter  frequent  and 
painful  trials.  Those  pure  affections  which  infold 
them  as  in  robes  of  light  and  loveliness,  tvill  go  out 
in  quest  of  congenial  objects.  It  may  be  a  wife  or 
husband.  It  may  be  a  group  of  children.  It  may 
be  one  or  two  chosen  friends ; — or  all  of  these  com- 
bined. But  whatever  the  objects,  they  are  loved, 
and  doted  on,  and  clung  to  with  a  fondness  and  a 
tenacity  which  makes  them,  as  it  were,  a  part  of 
their  being.  If  this  could  last,  there  were  less  room 
for  our  moral.     But  it  cannot  last: 


178  God,  the  Portion  of  the  Soul, 

"  There  is  no  union  here  of  hearts 
That  finds  not  here  an  end." 

By  and  by  the  blow  falls ;  and  it  falls  with  a  crush- 
ing weight.  It  is  as  when  a  storm  sweeps  through 
a  vineyard  and  prostrates  the  trellises.  Every  prop 
that  is  snapt  asunder  carries  down  its  load  of  luxu- 
riant, lacerated  vines.  And  so,  after  one  of  these 
strokes,  you  not  only  miss  a  familiar  form,  but  you 
find  the  affections  which  clustered  around  and  decor- 
ated it,  overthrown  with  their  support,  and  scattered, 
wounded  and  bleeding,  over  the  ground. 

I  speak,  doubtless,  to  many  a  mourner  whose  sad 
experience  has  illustrated  this.  And  it  belongs  so 
essentially  to  the  very  nature  and  design  of  the  dis- 
pensation under  which  we  live,  that  we  cannot  expect 
to  elude  it.  It  must  be  so,  that  if  we  ourselves  sur- 
vive we  shall  lose  the  objects  of  our  earthly  love. 
We  must  follow  them  to  the  grave,  or  they  us ;  and 
they  or  we  must  know  what  this  blight  of  the  heart's 
best  affections  is.  What,  then,  is  our  resource  ?  What 
the  voice  of  wisdom  and  of  duty  ?  Most  obviously 
to  choose  a  portion  that  will  not  fail  us ;  to  set  our 
affections  where  no  blight  can  reach  them ;  to  fasten 
our  hopes  upon  the  only  Being  who  will  never  dis- 
appoint us. 

Ye  children  of  sorrow,  who  mourn  over  the  graves, 
of  your  loved  ones;  whose  hearts  and  homes  are 
desolate;  listen  to  the  language  of  the  Psalmist,  and 


God,  the  Portion  of  the  Soul.  1 79 


pray  for  strength  to  make  it  your  own :  "  Whom 
have  I  in  heaven  but  Thee  ?  and  there  is  none  upon 
earth  that  I  desire  beside  Thee."  Here  is  One  whom 
you  may  love  without  any  danger  of  idolatry.  Here 
is  One  in  whom  you  may  confide  with  an  assurance 
that  your  trust  will  never  deceive  you.  Your  streams 
are  dried  up :  come  to  the  Fountain,  Creature- 
comforts  have  failed  you  :  come  to  the  Creator. 
Earth  is  a  cheerless  void  ;  but  Heaven  is  full.  With 
an  humble  trust  in  the  Redeemer  as  your  only  Hope, 
commit  yourselves  to  God.  Take  Him  as  your  "  all 
in  all."  And  then  your  peace  will  flow  as  a  river; 
the  inevitable  sorrows  of  life  will  bring  their  consola- 
tions with  them ;  and  death,  at  length,  in  bringing 
you  to  your  God,  will  restore  to  you  those  who  are 

"  Not  lost,  but  gone  before !" 


THE   SCRIPTURE    DOCTRINE   OF    RE- 
WARDS. 


Matthew  x.  41. 


"  He  that  receiveth  a  propJiet  in  the  name  of  a  propJiet, 
shall  receive  a  prophet's  rezvard ;  and  he  that  re- 
ceiveth a  rigJitcons  man  in  the  name  of  a  righteous 
man,  shall  receive  a  right e 021s  man's  reivardT 

This  passage  occurs  in  the  charge  our  Saviour 
addressed  to  the  twelve,  on  sending  them  forth  upon 
their  first  mission.  He  had  apprised  them  of  the 
hardships  and  perils  of  their  work.  But  He  would 
also  hold  out  its  encouragements.  These,  it  will  be 
seen,  were  enough  to  counterpoise  any  possible  dan- 
gers to  which  they  might  be  exposed.  For  He 
winds  up  a  series  of  remarkable  promises  with  these 
words  of  lofty  and  generous  cheer,  even  for  those 
who  might  show  any  kindness  to  His  servants, — im- 
plying what  was  in  reserve  for  his  servants  themselves : 
"  He  that  receiveth  you,"  etc.,  as  if  He  had  said  :  "  He 
180 


The  Scripture  Doctrine  of  Rewards.     1 8 1 

that  entertains  you  does  in  effect  entertain  me,  whose 
ministers  you  are  ;  and  he  that  entertains  me  does 
also  entertain  Him  that  sent  me;  and  my  Heavenly 
Father  will  regard  it  as  done  to  Himself.  He  that 
hospitably  entertains  a  prophet  (intending,  probably 
by  this  title,  the  apostles)  in  the  name  of  a  prophet, 
i.e.,  with  a  pious  regard  to  the  office  he  bears,  shall 
receive  the  reward  of  a  prophet  himself,  or  a  reward 
proportionable  to  the  worth  of  the  person  he  shelters 
and  accommodates  in  a  time  of  danger  and  difficulty  ; 
and  he  that  entertains  (any)  righteous  man,  in  the 
name  of  a  righteous  man,  or  with  a  cordial  regard  to 
the  virtues  of  his  character,  shall  himself  receive  the 
reward  of  a  righteous  man." 

There  are  various  aspects  in  which  this  promise 
might  be  viewed.  I  propose  to  make  it  the  founda- 
tion of  some  remarks  upon  the  Scripture  doctrine  of 
Rewards.  Here  and  elsewhere  the  future  happiness 
of  the  saints  is  styled  a  "  reward."  "  Love  ye  your 
enemies  and  do  good  and  lend,  hoping  for  nothing 
again,  and  your  reward  shall  be  great,  and  ye  shall 
be  called  the  children  of  the  Highest."  "  Every 
man  shall  receive  his  own  reward  according  to  his 
own  labor."  "  If  any  man's  work  abide,  he  shall  re- 
ceive a  reward."  "  Let  no  man  beguile  you  of  your 
reward."  "  Thy  Father  which  seeth  in  secret  shall 
reward  thee  openly." 

In  any  other  book,  the  habitual  use  of  language  of 
i6 


1 82     The  Scripture  Doctrine  of  Rewards. 

this  sort  would  be  taken  to  imply  the  idea  of  per- 
sonal merit  on  the  part  of  the  persons  spoken  of. 
The  honors  conferred  upon  them  would  be  simply 
their  due  desert, — what  they  had  earned  by  their  ser- 
vices. We  need  not  go  beyond  the  instincts  of  the 
renewed  heart  to  learn  that  the  language  can  have 
no  such  meaning  here.  No  real  Christian  feels  that 
he  has  any  merit  in  the  sight  of  his  Maker.  So  far 
from  it,  the  further  he  advances  in  the  Divine  life, 
the  more  deeply  does  he  realize  his  own  depravity 
and  helplessness. 

In  general  it  may  be  observed,  that  no  creature 
can  claim  a  reward  at  the  hands  of  God  for  obeying 
His  commands.  Obedience  is  the  prime  law  of  his 
being.  Whether  man  or  seraph,  the  question  of  rank 
is  of  no  moment,  his  first  obligation  is  to  love  and 
serve  the  Creator  with  all  his  powers.  So  long  as  he 
does  this,  the  justice  and  goodness  of  God  would  in- 
sure him  the  continuance  of  the  Divine  favor,  and  of 
the  happiness  it  carries  with  it.  But  it  would  not 
entitle  him  to  any  further  remuneration.  He  has 
simply  performed  his  duty.  How  should  this  entitle 
him  to  a  reward  ? 

We  are  here  assuming  a  case  of  perfect  obedience. 
If  it  be  asked  whether  Adam  would  have  received 
no  reward  in  the  event  of  his  remaining  steadfast, 
we  may  answer  affirmatively  without  contravening 
the    principle.     For   Adam  was   not   merely  placed 


TJie  Scripture  Doctrine  of  Rewm'ds.     183 

under  the  Divine  law.  God  was  pleased  to  enter 
into  a  "  covenant"  with  him,  in  which  He  graciously 
offered  and  promised  to  crown  his  obedience  with  a 
reward,  even  the  eternal  life  of  himself  and  his  pos- 
terity. In  the  absence  of  any  compact,  no  creature 
could  claim  a  future  reward  for  present  obedience, 
even  though  that  obedience  were  complete.  How 
much  stronger  the  case  when  the  obedience  is  alto- 
gether defective ;  when,  instead  of  being  conformed 
to  the  law  in  thought,  word,  and  deed,  it  is  fissured 
and  defiled  with  sin  in  every  direction  ?  Who  can 
talk  of  merit,  when  he  cannot  point  to  an  hour  of 
his  life  which  could  bear  the  test  of  the  law  and 
the  testimony  ?  when  the  impurity  which  cleaves 
to  his  best  services,  even  to  his  prayers  and  praises, 
makes  them  unfit  to  present  to  a  holy  God  ?  With 
reason,  therefore,  do  the  Scriptures  exclude  all  sen- 
timent of  personal  merit  from  the  entire  scheme  of 
salvation. 

Whence,  then,  comes  the  idea  of  "  reward"  which 
meets  us  so  often  in  the  New  Testament,  and  what 
is  its  purport  ?  I  answer,  it  comes  from  the  Media- 
tion of  Christ,  and  has  respect  to  His  merit,  not  ours. 
Our  Heavenly  Father  saw  fit  in  His  infinite  mercy 
to  rescue  man  from  the  effects  of  the  great  apos- 
tasy. Of  His  own  love  and  pity  He  entered  into 
another  covenant,  the  covenant  of  grace,  in  which 
He  provided  for  the  redemption  of  sinners  through 


184     The  Scripture  Doctrine  of  Rewards. 


tlie  substitution  of  His  only-begotten  Son.  The  Sa- 
viour came  into  our  world  and  fulfilled  the  stipula- 
tions of  this  covenant.  He  bore  our  sins.  He  died 
the  just  for  the  unjust.  He  obeyed  and  suffered  in 
the  room  and  stead  of  His  people.  It  was  a  volun- 
tary obedience  and  humiliation.  It  was  complete. 
It  was  appointed  and  accepted  of  the  Father.  Here 
is  merit — infinite  merit.  For  upon  every  part  of  His 
work,  whether  of  action  or  of  passion,  there  is  im- 
pressed the  dignity  and  worth  of  the  Godhead.  And 
this  resolves  the  problem  respecting  the  rewards  of 
Scripture.  For  on  the  ground  of  Christ's  obedience, 
the  Father  not  only  pardons  those  who  trust  in 
Him,  but  also  accepts  and  recompenses  their  imper- 
fect services.  From  no  merit  in  themselves,  but 
purely  from  the  boundless  merit  of  their  Redeemer, 
everything  they  do  or  attempt  to  do  for  the  cause 
of  Christ  receives  a  gracious  remuneration.  "  It 
does  not  consist  with  the  honor  of  the  majesty  of 
the  King  of  heaven  and  earth  to  accept  of  anything 
from  a  condemned  malefactor,  condemned  by  the 
justice  of  His  own  holy  law,  till  that  condemnation 
be  removed."  "  But  being  '  accepted  in  the  Be- 
loved,' our  services  become  impregnated,  as  it  were, 
with  His  worthiness;  our  petitions  are  offered  with 
the  'much  incense'  of  His  intercession;  and  both 
are  treated  in  a  sort  as  though  they  were  His.  In 
approving  the  services  of  believers,  God  approves 


'  The  Scripture  Doctrine  of  Rewards.     185 

of  the  obedience  and  sacrifice  of  His  Son,  of  which 
they  are  the  fruits ;  and  in  rewarding  them,  con- 
tinues to  reward  Him,  or  to  express  his  well- 
pleasedness  in  His  mediation."* 

This  view  harmonizes  all  the  utterances  of  the 
Bible  on  this  interesting  subject.  It  vindicates  the 
fundamental  truth  that  salvation  is,  from  first  to  last, 
of  free  and  sovereign  grace.  It  "  hides  pride"  from 
man  by  affirming  the  imperfection  and  sin  of  his 
very  best  performances,  even  at  his  highest  stage  of 
Christian  culture.  At  the  same  time,  by  making 
obedience  the  test  of  faith  and  love,  it  guards  the 
doctrine  from  profane  license,  while  it  holds  out 
the  noblest  encouragement  to  fidelity.  It  illustrates 
the  ineffable  value  which  attaches  to  the  suretyship 
of  our  Saviour.  And  it  presents  the  ever-blessed 
God  to  us  in  the  character  of  a  most  indulgent 
and  munificent  Father,  who  stoops  to  notice  and  to 
reward  the  humblest  offices  of  His  children,  even 
down  to  the  giving  of  a  cup  of  cold  water  to  a  dis- 
ciple. Such  a  doctrine  carries  with  it  its  divine  cre- 
dentials. We  need  not  scruple  to  receive  it  as  the 
true  scriptural  idea  of  rewards. 

But  there  is  a  further  question  suggested  by  the 
text,  and  glanced  at  in  numerous  other  passages  of 
Scripture,  viz.,  whether  there  be  any  diversity  i?i  the 


*  Andrew  Fuller. 
16* 


1 86     The  Scripture  Doctrine  of  Rewards.  • 

rewards  of  the  righteous.  A  familiar  mode  of  stating 
the  point  is  this:  Are  there  different  degrees  in 
glory,  or  will  the  ransomed  all  inherit  the  same 
measure  of  honor  and  blessedness?  And  if  their 
allotments  vary,  by  what  rule  are  they  apportioned  ? 
These  are  topics  which  must  have  engaged  the  atten- 
tion of  every  thoughtful  reader  of  the  Bible.  They 
come  home  to  every  one's  heart.  Let  us  reflect 
upon  them  for  a  little. 

The  text  appears  to  make  a  distinction  between 
the  reward  of  a  "  prophet"  and  that  of  a  "  righteous 
man  ;"  or  between  a  faithful  teacher  of  religion  and 
any  simply  devout  believer.  Other  testimonies,  as 
we  shall  see,  point  in  the  .same  direction.  But  the 
doctrine  of  a  gradation  in  the  degrees  of  glory 
awarded  to  the  ransomed,  has  not  commanded  the 
imivcrsal  assent  of  the  Church.  It  is  proper  that 
the  arguments  on  the  negative  side  should  be  put 
briefly  before  you. 

The  people  of  God  (it  has  been  alleged)  are  loved 
by  Him  with  the  same  love:  they  are  not  loved  one 
sooner  than  another,  for  they  are  all  loved  with  an 
everlasting  love ;  nor  one  more  than  another,  for 
there  are  no  degrees  in  the  love  of  God.  They  are 
all  chosen  together  in  Christ  before  the  foundation 
of  the  world,  and  are  equally  interested  in  the  same 
covenant  of  grace,  which  is  an  everlasting  one. 
They  are  equally  redeemed  by  the  .same  precious 


The  Scripture  Doctrine  of  Rewards.     187 

blood,  and  justified  by  the  same  righteousness. 
They  are  equally  the  sons  of  God,  being  predesti- 
nated to  the  same  adoption  of  children ;  and,  being 
children,  are  alike  heirs  of  God  and  joint  heirs  with 
Jesus  Christ.  They  are  also  exalted  to  the  same 
rank  and  dignity,  being  made  kings  and  priests  unto 
God.  Added  to  this,  their  future  glory  is  frequently 
expressed  by  words  of  the  singular  number,  imply- 
ing that  all  have  an  equal  share  in  it,  as  an  inherit- 
ance, a  city,  a  kingdom,  a  crown  of  righteousness, 
and  the  like.*  On  these  and  similar  grounds,  it  is 
contended,  there  can  be  no  degrees  in  the  future 
glory  of  the  redeemed.  The  argument,  it  must  be 
admitted,  is  not  without  its  force.  I  shall  not  exam- 
ine it  in  detail,  but  content  myself  with  suggesting  a 
few  of  the  considerations  which  go  to  establish  the 
opposite  view. 

And  first,  the  doctrine  of  a  diversity  of  degrees  in 
the  heavenly  glory,  approves  itself  to  the  consciousness 
of  the  renewed  heart.  This  is  not  urged  as  decisive 
of  the  question ;  but  it  is  not  to  be  contemned. 
God's  people  are  taught  of  the  Spirit.  There  is  a 
strong  presumption  in  favor  of  the  truth  of  any  senti- 
ment which  commands  their  general  assent.  And  it 
cannot  be  doubted  that  they  concur  in  the  proposi- 
tion we  are  dealing  with, — unless  they  have  become 

*  Gill's  Divinity. 


1 88     The  Scripture  Doctrine  of  Rewards. 


perplexed  by  adverse  arguments  which  they  have 
not,  for  the  time,  been  able  to  answer.  The  intui- 
tions of  the  Christian  heart  would  decide  that  there 
should  and  must  be  a  difference  between  the  reward 
bestowed  upon  men  like  Abraham  and  Moses  and 
Paul  and  John,  and  the  unknown  disciples  of  their 
respective  eras  ;  between  the  self-denying  missionary 
who  devotes  his  life  to  the  conversion  of  the  heathen, 
and  the  poor  pagan  whom  he  is  instrumental  in  lead- 
ing to  the  Saviour.  While  conceding,  as  every  be- 
liever from  "  pious  Abel"  down  would  have  done, 
that  no  one  has  ever  had  the  least  claim  to  a  reward 
as  a  matter  of  personal  desert,  our  sense  of  equity 
demands  that  the  rewards  which  abounding  grace 
has  purposed  to  confer,  shall  embrace  some  recogni- 
tion of  the  immense  disparity,  both  of  labor  and  sac- 
rifice, which  distinguishes  believers  here.  It  gratifies 
the  best  susceptibilities  of  our  nature  to  reflect  that 
the  Christians  whose  shining  characters  and  illustri- 
ous lives  have  done  so  much  for  the  well-being  of 
our  race,  are  one  day  to  receive  a  corresponding 
award  from  the  hands  of  their  and  our  Master. 
Who  would  have  it  otherwise  ?  Who  that  is  sure 
of  heaven  himself  would  not  be  conscious  of  a  feel- 
ing of  disappointment  if  he  were  told  that  men  like 
Luther  and  Ridley  and  Latimer  and  Edwards  and 
Martyn  were  to  have  nothing  in  their  reward  to  dis- 
tinguish  it  from  the  acknowledgement  conceded  to 


The  Scripture  Doctrine  of  Rewards.     189 

the  meagre  service  lie  is  rendering  to  his  Lord  ? 
Who  does  not  feel  that  there  should  be  something 
there  to  mark  the  disparity  which  prevails  among 
the  Christians  we  meet  every  day  here ;  which  sepa- 
rates, in  the  same  congregation,  those  who  maintain 
a  close  walk  with  God,  from- those  who  keep  so  near 
the  border-line  between  the  Church  and  the  world 
that  it  requires  a  large  charity  to  believe  they  have 
ever  crossed  that  line?  It  is  certainly  an  intui- 
tive conviction  with  us  that  some  regard  will  be  had 
to  this  principle  in  the  distribution  of  the  heavenly 
rewards.  This  conviction  derives  confirmation  from 
various  passages  of  Scripture,  as  when  our  Saviour 
promises  the  twelve  that  they  shall  "  sit  with  Him 
on  thrones,  judging  the  twelves  tribes  of  Israel ;" 
and  when  He  speaks  of  the  privilege  of  sitting  down 
with  Abraham  and  Isaac  and  Jacob  in  His  kingdom ; 
and  also  in  that  beautiful  description  of  Daniel, 
"  They  that  be  wise  shall  shine  as  the  brightness  of 
the  firmament ;  and  they  that  turn  many  to  right- 
eousness as  the  stars  for  ever  and  ever."  It  is  not, 
however,  quite  certain  whether  the  second  clause  in 
this  verse  be  anything  more  than  an  iteration  of  the 
idea  expressed  in  the  first  clause,  as  demanded  by 
the  law  of  parallelism  upon  which  the  Hebrew 
poetry  is  usually  constructed.  If  the  meaning  be 
carried  further  in  the  second  part  (and  so  most 
readers  understand  the  words),  then  the  verse  yields 


190     The  Scripture  Doctrine  of  Rewards. 


a  very  explicit  testimony  to  the  doctrine  of  a  diver- 
sity of  degrees  in  glory. 

But  there  is  a  different  line  of  argument  which 
must  be  deemed  decisive  of  this  question.  We  have 
thus  far  been  speaking  of  heaven  simply  as  a  place, 
— a  city, — a  country, — an  empire, — with  God  for  its 
Sovereign.  Like  other  sovereigns.  He  recognizes 
the  services  of  His  people,  and  confers  on  them 
suitable  rewards,  by  assigning  one  to  this  post  of 
honor,  another  to  that ;  and  distributing  testimoni- 
als after  the  manner  of  earthly  princes  in  awarding 
medals,  badges,  and  titles,  to  meritorious  subjects. 
We  need  not  exclude  this  idea  as  absolutely  un- 
scriptural.  Rather  must  we  believe  that  the  "Judge 
of  all"  will  mark  His  approval  of  superior  fidelity 
on  the  part  of  His  servants  by  bestowing  upon 
them  outward  and  visible  tokens  of  His  favor.  But 
this  is  not  the  essential  idea  of  the  heavenly  glory. 
It  is  only  necessary  to  consider  ivhat  heaven  is 
to  perceive  that  there  imist  be  degrees  in  that 
glory. 

For  heaven,  though  unquestionably  a  place,  is  no 
less  a  state.  Simply  to  be  in  that  place  is  not  to  be 
in  heaven, — i.e.,  is  not  to  enjoy  the  happiness  of 
heaven.  The  moment  the  angels  sinned,  heaven 
ceased  to  be  heaven  to  them.  Could  an  uncon- 
verted sinner  be  taken  there,  it  would  be  no  heaven 
to  him. 


The  Scripture  Doctrine  of  Rewards.     1 9 1 

"  The  mind  is  its  own  place,  and  in  itself 
Can  make  a  Heaven  of  Hell,  a  Hell  of  Heaven." 

The  happiness  of  the  ransomed  will  depend  less 
upon  the  particular  situation  they  may  fill,  or  any 
outward  decorations,  than  upon  their  own  characters 
and  employments,  and  the  reciprocal  adaptation  be- 
tween the  two.  And  the  character  of  the  saved  is  a 
character  formed  here.  The  principle  is  one  and 
the  same,  in  grace  and  in  glory.  There  is  no 
change  in  identity;  no  suspension  of  the  mental 
functions;  no  oblivion  of  the  earthly  life.  It  is  the 
same  disciple  that  believed  and  loved  and  prayed 
and  toiled  and  suffered  for  his  Master  here,  who 
goes  up  to  worship  and  praise  Him  there.  And 
unless  there  be  an  absolute  oneness  in  the  experi- 
ence, the  labors,  and  the  attainments  of  believers  in 
this  world,  there  must  be  an  inequality  in  their 
measures  of  happiness  in  that  world. 

We  may  take  the  first  act  in  that  new  and  sublime 
career  upon  which  they  are  to  enter.  To  the  myr- 
iads assembled  at  His  right  hand  in  the  judgment 
the  Saviour  will  say,  "  Come  ye  blessed  of  my  Father, 
inherit  the  kingdom  prepared  for  you  from  the  founda- 
tion of  the  world.  For  I  was  an  hungered,  and  ye 
gave  me  meat:  I  was  thirsty,  and  ye  gave  me  drink: 
I  was  a  stranger,  and  ye  took  me  in  :  naked,  and  ye 
clothed  me :  I  was  sick,  and  ye  visited  me :  I  was  in 
prison,  and  ye  came  unto  me."     Is  it  not  apparent 


192     The  Scripture  Doctrine  of  Rewards. 


that  this  announcement  will  awaken  very  different 
emotions  in  the  breasts  of  that  white-robed  company? 
All  will  hail  it  with  adoring  gratitude.  All  will  re- 
joice in  it.  All  will  be  happy  in  it.  But  some  will 
feel  it  much  more  deeply  and  joyfully  than  others. 
For  this  occurs  now,  and  no  reason  can  be  given 
why  it  should  not  be  so  then.  The  language  must 
make  diverse  impressions  upon  your  minds  as  you 
listen  to  it  here  in  the  sanctuary.  It  cannot  be  re- 
peated in  any  assembly  of  Christians,  who  would  all 
listen  to  it  with  precisely  the  same  feelings.  And 
when  caught  up  in  that  day  from  the  Saviour's  own 
lips,  the  emotions  it  enkindles  must  unavoidably  take 
their  hue,  more  or  less,  from  each  one's  personal 
experience. 

There  will,  e.g.,  be  individuals  present  at  His  bar, 
who,  from  having  been  converted  at  the  last  hour  of 
life,  or  by  reason  of  a  very  lukewarm  piety,  will 
have  done  little  or  nothing  to  feed  the  hungry,  and 
clothe  the  naked,  and  succor  the  afflicted,  of  Christ's 
flock.  And  while  the  most  faithful  of  His  people 
will  disclaim  all  merit  for  anything  they  were  led  to 
do  in  this  way,  yet  they  will  derive  from  His  gracious 
words,  "  Inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  it  unto  one  of 
the  least  of  these  my  brethren,  ye  have  done  it  unto 
me,"  an  ineffable  satisfaction  which  the  others  cannot 
share.  They  who  have  done  the  most  for  His  cause 
will  be  the  most  forward  to  confess  their  unprofitable- 


The  Scripture  Docb'ine  of  Rewards.     19; 


ness.  But  to  have  their  feeble  endeavors  to  serve 
Him,  the  humble  efforts  they  have  put  forth,  and 
the  self-denial  they  have  practised,  in  behalf  of  His 
church  and  people,  thus  recognized  and  lauded  in 
the  presence  of  the  universe,  this  surely  will  fill  them 
with  a  blessedness  which  they  cannot  know  who 
have  no  such  offices  to  recall.  These  last  will  be 
perfectly  happy  also  ;  but  they  will  not  have  the  same 
capacity  of  happiness  as  their  brethren.  A  child's 
happiness  maybe  complete;  but  his  bosom  would 
not  hold  the  happiness  that  pervades  without  filling 
his  mother's  heart.  And  a  like  inequality  must  at- 
tach to  the  relative  capacities  of  the  righteous  as 
they  go  up  to  receive  their  rewards. 

This  inequality,  as  it  is  affected  by  other  causes,  so 
also  will  it  depend  much  upon  the  progress  they 
have  made  in  personal  holiness  here.  Of  course  all 
will  be  immaculate  when  they  enter  heaven.  But 
there  will  be  among  them,  as  we  believe,  that  great 
company  who,  having  died  in  infancy,  will  never 
have  had  any  consciousness  of  sin.  There  will  be 
others  who,  like  the  thief  on  the  cross,  will  have 
passed  by  an  instant  transition,  from  a  condition  of 
hardened  iniquity  to  a  state  of  spotless  purity  ;  while 
others  still  will  have  been  waging  a  weary  warfare 
with  sin  for  thirty,  fifty,  seventy  years.  Now,  allow- 
ing that  all  are  alike  holy  as  they  bow  before  the 
throne  and  traverse  the  streets  of  the  New  Jerusalem, 

17 


194     The  Scripture  Doctrine  of  Rewards. 

can  it  be  supposed  that  they  will  all  have  the  same 
emotions  and  the  same  joy  ?  Is  this  endless  variety 
which  pertains  to  the  experience  of  believers  here,  to 
have  no  bearing  upon  their  future  lot?  Does  its 
significance  begin  and  end  with  this  transitory  life? 
Is  one  child  of  God  endowed  with  a  full  assurance 
of  hope  from  the  moment  of  his  conversion  ;  and 
another  left  to  walk  in  darkness  all  his  days ;  and  a 
third  assigned  to  a  perpetual  conflict  with  his  own 
fierce  passions,  with  alternate  defeat  and  victory;  and 
a  fourth  appointed  to  a  life-long  struggle  with  the 
hostility  of  the  world  and  the  assaults  of  Satan  :  and 
is  this  diverse  training  to  have  no  influence  upon 
them  in  heaven  ?  We  arrogate  nothing  when  we  say 
this  cannot  be  :  the  laws  of  the  human  mind  forbid 
it.  It  would  imply  an  annihilation  of  memory.  And 
it  would  go  farther  than  anything  else  has  ever  gone 
in  the  Divine  administration  to  warrant  the  inquiry, 
"To  what  purpose  is  this  waste?"  Perfectly  happy 
all  these  glorified  spirits  are.  But  it  is  the  law  of 
our  being  to  reap  what  we  have  sown,  and  according 
as  we  have  sown,  sparingly  or  bountifully.  They 
have  all  sown  to  the  Spirit,  and  they  will  reap  life 
everlasting.  But  their  sowing  was  in  widely-different 
modes  and  measures;  and  so  must  their  harvest  be. 
The  poor,  desponding,  tempted  soul  that  has  gone 
through  life  mourning  that  it  had  no  love  to  Christ, 
though   ready  every  day  to  wash  His  feet  with   its 


The  Scripture  Doctrine  of  Rewards.    195 

tears  and  wipe  them  with  the  hairs  of  its  head,  cannot 
possibly  experience  in  that  world  the  same  type  and 
measure  of  joy  with  the  triumphant  soldier  of  the 
cross  who  has  fought  the  good  fight  of  faith  and 
gone  up  to  lay  his  trophies  at  the  Master's  feet  with- 
out ever  having  known  a  doubt  or  fear  of  his  final 
victory.  It  is  not  for  us  to  say  whether  this  or  that 
is  to  wear  the  brighter  crown.  All  we  know,  or  care 
to  know,  is,  that  their  crowns  will  differ  as  "  one  star 
differs  from  another  star  in  glory." 

Again,  the  reigning  sentiment  in  heaven  is  love  to 
God.  In  the  exercise  of  this  love  its  bliss  largely 
consists.  Every  one  will  cherish  it  to  the  full  extent 
of  his  powers ;  but  how  many  circumstances  will 
modify  the  sentiment  in  different  cases!  We  see  this 
in  the  present  life, — with  men  who  have  been  great 
sinners ;  with  men  whose  conversion  has  been  at- 
tended with  peculiar  providences ;  with  those  who 
have  been  blessed  in  their  efforts  for  spreading 
Christianity ;  with  many  whose  families  have  shared 
largely  in  the  grace  and  mercy  of  the  Gospel ;  and 
with  a  multitude  of  others.  Everywhere  may  be 
found  those  who  feel  that  they  have  signal  cause  for 
gratitude  to  God.  And  if  they  feel  this  here,  how 
much  more  in  heaven.  Those  who  have  loved  but  a 
little  here,  will  love  much  there.  And  they  who 
have  loved  much  in  this  world,  will  love  still  more 
in   that.     And   since   the   exercise  of  holy  love    is 


196     The  Scripture  Doctrine  of  Rewards. 

necessarily  a  source  of  happiness,  their  felicity  will 
correspond  with  the  measure  of  love  which  throbs  in 
every  heart. 

Again,  the  happiness  of  heaven  flows  in  a  large 
degree  from  its  zvorship.  The  ransomed  are  before 
the  throne  of  God.  They  serve  Him  day  and  night 
in  His  temple.  They  sing  the  perpetual  song,  "  Wor- 
thy is  the  Lamb  that  was  slain  !"  "  And  they  shall 
see  His  face,  and  His  name  shall  be  in  their  fore- 
heads." We  need  not  ask  whether  their  bliss  is  per- 
fect. But  is  it  co-equal  ?  Do  sinners  like  Manasseh 
and  Saul  of  Tarsus,  like  Augustine  and  Rochester, 
experience  no  higher  joy  as  they  look  upon  that  Sa- 
viour and  join  in  that  anthem,  than  those  who  were 
never  left  to  deny  the  faith  nor  to  wander  from  the 
paths  of  virtue?  And  with  what  ecstasy  will  His 
faithful  followers  who  have  toiled  and  suffered  long 
in  His  service  unite  in  that  worship!  In  every  part 
of  the  Church  there  are  those  who,  like  their  Master, 
find  it  their  meat  to  do  the  will  of  their  Father  in 
heaven.  They  hold  their  property  as  his  stewards. 
They  are  instant  in  prayer.  They  are  using  their 
gifts  and  opportunities  to  instruct  the  ignorant,  to 
comfort  the  afflicted,  to  reclaim  the  wandering,  to 
win  souls  to  Christ.  Not  a  few  are  engaged  in  the 
work  of  the  ministry,  preaching  Christ  crucified 
to  the  perishing,  without  fear  or  favor.  Many  take 
their  lives  in  their  hands,  and  go  to  carry  salvation 


The  Scripture  Doctrine  of  Rewards.     197 

to  pagan  tribes.  To  some  it  is  given  not  only  to  be- 
lieve on  Him,  but  to  suffer  for  His  sake.  Thousands 
of  martyrs  have  sealed  their  faith  with  their  blood. 

These  various  classes,  and  many  others  whom  He 
has  greatly  honored  in  the  way  of  doing  or  of  suf- 
fering His  will,  whose  labors  or  whose  trials  He  has 
employed  in  glorifying  His  name  and  saving  the 
souls  of  men,  cannot  fail  to  experience  a  rapture  all 
their  own  as  they  gaze  upon  the  "  Lamb  in  the 
midst  of  the  throne,"  and  join  in  the  Hosannas  of 
the  skies.  To  have  been  made  the  objects  of  His 
special  love ;  to  have  been  permitted  to  do  or  to 
endure  anything  on  His  behalf;  to  have  been  made 
instrumental  in  leading  their  fellow-sinners  to  the 
fountain  of  His  blood ;  to  have  been  allowed  the 
slightest  agency  in  helping  onward  the  glorious 
work  of  redemption  ;  the  consciousness  of  this  will 
fill  them  with  a  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory. 
While  all  others  of  that  blood-washed  throng  will 
be  filled  with  blessing,  their  blessedness  will  exceed. 
There  must  be  degrees  in  glory. 

This  is  still  further  confirmed  by  the  reflection, 
that  the  ransomed  zvill  be  permitted  to  see  sometJung 
of  the  fridt  of  their  labors  for  the  good  of  the  race. 

In  this  life  we  can  trace  the  effects  of  our  influence 
but  very  imperfectly.  Even  here  we  may  have  the 
grateful  assurance  that  we  have  not  "  labored  in 
vain ;"  that  we  have  helped  to  minister  a  little  com- 

17* 


198     The  Scripture  Doctrine  of  Rewards. 

fort  or  a  little  counsel  or  a  little  strength  to  the 
needy  ;  possibly  that  God  has  crowned  with  success 
our  unworthy  efforts  to  bring  some  fellow-sinner — 
one  or  more — to  the  saving  knowledge  of  Christ. 
And  you  must  know  what  happiness  such  a  con- 
viction brings  with  it.  But  this  is  only  the  seed- 
time. The  harvest  is  to  come.  And  what  a  harvest 
will  that  be !  It  is  of  the  nature  of  both  good  and 
bad  influences  that  they  propagate  themselves.  You 
put  forth  your  hand  to  relieve  a  suffering  family. 
You  assist  a  deserving  youth  in  obtaining  an  educa- 
tion. You  instil  God's  truth  into  the  minds  of  your 
Sunday  or  day-scholars.  You  take  part  in  founding 
a  Charity,  or  in  sending  forth  a  devoted  missionary. 
Your  kind  and  faithful  counsels  are  made  effectual  to 
the  converting  of  a  sinner  from  the  error  of  his  way. 
By  any  one  of  these  offices  you  may  have  originated 
trains  of  wholesome  influence,  which  shall  go  on 
increasing  in  energy  and  power  until  the  last  day ; 
and  when  the  beneficent  results  meet  you,  your  emo- 
tions of  joy  and  gratitude  to  God  will  be  too  big  for 
utterance.  And  who  will  venture  to  describe  the 
feelings  of  those  servants  of  God  in  that  day,  who 
shall  have  been  instrumental  in  giving  the  Gospel  to  a 
benighted  nation ;  or  in  converting  a  multitude  of  sin- 
ners; or  in  sending  young  men  into  the  ministry;  or  in 
establishing  evangelical  churches  ;  or  in  writing  books 
which,  like  Bunyan's  Pilgrim,  or  Doddridge's  Rise 


The  Scripture  Doctrine  of  Rewai^ds.     199 

and  Progress,  have  proved  "immortal"?  all  these 
mighty  agencies  having  gone  on  perpetuating  and 
multiplying  themselves  down  to  the  final  judgment, 
and  will  then  come  forth  in  their  accumulated  mag- 
nificence to  greet  the  eyes  of  the  feeble  men  who  first 
set  them  in  motion !  Is  it  for  mortal  tongue  or  pen 
to  depict  the  wonder,  love,  and  joy  which  will  swell 
the  bosoms  of  these  humble  workers  as  they  survey 
\\vQ  fruits  of  their  labor?  Will  there  not  be  some- 
thing unique — exalted — overpowering — in  the  bless- 
edness they  experience,  as  they  cast  their  radiant 
crowns  at  the  Redeemer's  feet  and  cry,  "  Not  unto 
us,  not  unto  us,  but  unto  Thy  name  be  all  the  glory, 
for  Thy  mercy  and  for  Thy  truth's  sake  !"  Surely  it 
does  not  admit  of  a  question  that  the  everlasting  re- 
wards of  the  righteous  will  shine  with  very  unequal 
degrees  of  glory;  while  each  will  be  glorious,  and 
all  will  conspire  to  reflect  the  glory  of  our  Immanuel. 
We  have  thus  seen  that  the  scriptural  doctrine  of 
rewards  is  one  which  excludes  the  idea  of  personal 
merit  on  the  part  of  the  recipients,  and  leaves  no 
ground  for  boasting.  The  works  rewarded  are  per- 
formed entirely  through  the  strength  imparted  by 
the  Divine  Spirit;  and  the  generous  recognition 
they  receive  is  wholly  due  to  the  Saviour's  merits, 
not  our  own.  It  has  also  been  shown  that  believers, 
though  not  rewarded  for  their  works,  are  rewarded 
according  to  their  works ;  aijd,  further,  that  not  sim- 


200     The  Scripture  Doctrine  of  Rewards. 


ply  by  the  sovereign  appointment  of  God,  but  from 
the  constitution  He  has  given  us  and  the  relations 
we  sustain  to  Him,  these  rewards  will  vary  indefi- 
nitely. 

This  announcement  will  cast  a  shadow  upon  some 
minds.  "  If  this  be  so,  will  it  not  preclude  us  from 
all  intercourse  with  many  whom  we  have  known 
and  loved  here,  since  they  will  be  exalted  to  a 
sphere  so  far  above  our  own  ?  And  will  not  this 
mar  the  perfection  of  our  happiness  ?"  It  becomes 
us  to  speak  with  modesty  on  a  theme  which  the 
Scriptures  treat  with  so  much  reserve.  That  heaven 
must  be  a  realm  of  almost  illimitable  extent,  is  appar- 
ent from  the  countless  myriads  of  saints  and  angels 
who  are  to  inhabit  it.  Of  its  divisions,  territorial, 
social,  or  civil,  we  can  form  no  satisfactory  conjec- 
ture. We  read  of  its  "many  mansions,"  of  the  "new 
heavens,"  of  the  "  third  heaven,"  of  the  "  heaven  of 
heavens,"  and  other  similar  expressions.  We  can- 
not interpret  them.  We  can  neither  affirm  nor  deny 
that  grateful  speculation  that  the  redeemed  may,  in 
the  flight  of  ages,  be  allowed  to  visit  the  various  orbs 
and  systems  diffused  throughout  the  universe.  But 
we  can  suggest  a  consideration  which  meets  the  diffi- 
culty just  stated.  The  disparities  of  Christian  char- 
acter here  present  no  bar  to  congenial  fellowship : 
why  should  their  unequal  measures  of  honor  and 
blessedness  forbid  it  there  ?     There  may  be  different 


The  Scripture  Doctrine  of  Rewards.    201 

"  degrees  in  glory,"  without  separation.  We  may  be 
sure  there  will  be.  Is  there  any  Christian  who  does 
not  expect,  if  lie  reaches  heaven  at  all,  to  talk  with 
Abel,  and  Noah,  and  Joseph,  and  Peter,  and  Mary 
and  Martha,  and  the  Blessed  Virgin  ?  Why,  then, 
question  that  you  will  meet  and  mingle  with  those 
whose  piety  you  revere  here,  and  to  whom  you  are 
bound  by  the  ties  of  strong  affection  ? 

But,  better  still,  make  it  your  care  to  evudate  their 
graces,  and  then  you  will  be  certain  to  keep  side  by 
side  with  them. 

This,  indeed,  is  the  sum  of  the  whole  matter,  the 
conclusion  to  which  the  entire  argument  points  us, 
that  we  be  more  faithful  to  our  Lord  ajid  Master. 
Without  adverting  to  other  considerations,  the  bare 
thought  of  securing  this  glorious  reward  should  be 
enough  to  inflame  our  zeal  to  the  highest  pitch. 
There  is  wondrous  mercy  in  His  offering  to  pardon 
and  save  us  at  all.  But  behold  the  "  unsearchable 
riches  of  Christ."  Not  only  does  He  forgive  and 
save,  but  He  notices  with  an  approving  eye  every- 
thing that  His  people  do  for  Him.  He  records  their 
every  word  and  act  put  forth  on  His  behalf,  and  even 
the  most  trivial  service  rendered  to  the  obscurest  of 
His  followers.  These  He  will  recall  and  crown  with 
imperishable  rewards  at  the  last  day. 

And,  for  your  comfort,  remember  that  the  reward 
will  be  proportioned,  not  to  your  talents  and  oppor- 


202     The  Scripture  Doctrine  of  Rewards. 

tunities,  but  to  the  use  you  make  of  them ;  not  to 
what  you  accomplish,  but  to  wliat  you  try  to  accom- 
pHsh ;  not  to  the  harvest  you  may  reap  here,  but  to 
the  seed  you  sow.  "  Every  man  shall  receive  his 
own  reward,  according  to  his  own  labor."  Not 
according  to  his  gifts;  not  according  to  his  suc- 
cesses; not  according  to  the  worldly  applause  he 
may  have  won :  but  "  according  to  his  labor." 
This  meets  the  case  of  every  disciple,  as  well  the 
poorest  as  the  richest,  as  well  the  obscurest  as  the 
greatest,  as  well  the  servant  with  one  talent  as  the 
servant  with  five.  Only  be  faithful  to  your  trust. 
Work  from  no  sordid  motive.  Let  the  love  of 
Christ  constrain  you  to  devote  all  your  powers  to 
His  service,  and  when  the  labor  of  the  day  is  over, 
and  you  go  up  to  the  great  harvest-home,  you  will 
be  "satisfied."  Heaven  and  earth  may  pass  away, 
but  "you  shall  in  no  wise  lose  your  reward." 


THE   STILLING   OF   THE   TEMPEST. 


Matthew  viii.  23-27. 


^'And  zvhcn  He  was  entered  into  a  ship,  His  disciples 
followed  Him,  And,  behold,  tJui-e  arose  a  great  tem- 
pest in  the  sea,  insomuch  that  the  ship  zvas  covered 
ivith  the  waves :  but  He  was  asleep.  And  His  dis- 
ciples came  to  Him,  and  aivoke  Him,  saying,  Lord, 
save  us:  we  perish.  And  He  saith  unto  them,  Why 
are  ye  fearful,  0  ye  of  little  faith?  Then  He  arose, 
and  rebuked  the  zvinds  and  the  sea;  and  there  zvas  a 
great  calm.  But  the  men  marvelled,  sayijig.  What 
manner  of  man  is  this,  that  even  the  winds  and  the 
sea  obey  Him  f  (See,  also,  Mark  iv.  35-41  ;  Luke 
viii.  22-25.) 

There  is  no  sheet  of  water  on  the  globe  around 
which  such  memories  cluster,  or  which  will  be  so 
often  thought  of  in  heaven,  as  the  Sea  of  Gennesareth. 
We  meet  with  it  so  constantly  in  the  Gospels  that 
every  reader  of  the  inspired  annals  must  be  familiar 
with  its  name  and  character.     By  way  of  refreshing 


204  The  Stilling  of  the  Tempest. 

your  minds,  let  me  state  that  in  the  Old  Testament  it 
is  called  the  Sea  of  Cinneroth  ;  in  the  New,  the  Lake 
or  Sea  of  Tiberias,  of  Galilee,  of  Gennesareth.  It  is 
of  an  oval  shape,  about  thirteen  miles  long  and  six 
broad.  It  lies  in  a  basin  of  volcanic  origin,  the  most 
remarkable  feature  of  which  is,  that  it  is  depressed 
about  seven  hundred  feet  below  the  level  of  the  Med- 
iterranean Sea.  The  lofty  sides  of  this  basin  come 
shelving  down  from  the  neighboring  plateaus,  masses 
of  black  and  sterile  rock,  on  the  eastern  side  not  less 
than  two  thousand  feet  in  height,  and  on  either  side 
furrowed  by  deep  ravines.  On  the  west,  the  ridges 
are  of  lower  altitude  and  more  broken,  affording  nu- 
merous sites  for  hamlets  and  towns.  At  the  period 
of  the  Advent,  there  were  no  less  than  nine  cities  on 
the  shores  of  this  lake,  and  the  hills  in  every  direc- 
tion were  dotted  with  villages.  In  this  region  our 
Lord  spent  the  greater  part  of  His  public  life,  "  His 
own  city,"  Capernaum,  was  here.  Many  of  His 
miracles  were  performed  here.  Here  He  called  His 
first  disciples.  Often  did  He  sail  on  the  bosom  of 
this  sea.  Often  were  its  shores  pressed  by  His 
sacred  feet.  "  So  much,  indeed,  of  His  ministry  was 
spent  here,  that  to  expunge  from  the  New  Testa- 
ment all  that  pertains  to  His  life  and  labors  in  the 
environs  of  Gennesareth  would  be  to  obliterate  no 
inconsiderable  portion  of  the  four  Gospels. 

To  this   most  interesting  spot  our  narrative  con- 


The  Stilling  of  the  Tempest.  205 

ducts  us.  In  considering  it,  I  shall  keep  in  view  the 
accounts  given  by  the  three  Evangelists  who  men- 
tion it,  each  of  whom  relates  some  incidents  not 
given  by  the  others.  (Matt.  viii.  23-7;  Mark  iv.  35- 
41  ;  Luke  viii.  22-25.) 

"  Now  when  Jesus  saw  great  multitudes  about  Him, 
He  gave  commandment  to  depart  unto  the  other 
side."  St.  Mark  says,  "  the  same  day  when  the  even 
was  come."  The  harmonists  are  generally  agreed 
that  Mark  in  this  instance  follows  the  order  of  time. 
The  "  day"  was  that  on  which  he  had  delivered  the 
long  series  of  parables  recorded  in  the  13th  chapter 
of  St.  Matthew.  A  most  laborious  day  it  must  have 
been  to  the  Saviour.  The  people  had  flocked  to 
Him  from  the  neighboring  country.  He  needed 
rest.  And  He  proposes  to  His  disciples  that  they 
shall  go  on  board  their  boat  and  cross  over  to  the 
eastern  side  of  the  lake.  But  He  must  delay  a  mo- 
ment longer.  For  at  this  juncture  an  eager  scribe 
approaches  Him  with  a  warm  protestation  of  love, 
"  Master,  I  will  follow  thee  whithersoever  thou  goest." 
We  may  thank  him  for  his  "  confession ;"  for  it  has 
secured  to  us  that  most  touching  response  of  Jesus  : 
"  The  foxes  have  holes  and  the  birds  of  the  air  have 
nests ;  but  the  Son  of  man  hath  not  where  to  lay 
His  head."  Two  others  succeed  him,  to  each  of 
whom  He  replies  in  terms  which  have  ministered 
admonition  and  instruction  to  thousands  who  were 

18 


2o6  The  Stilling  of  the  Tempest. 

persuading  themselves  that  tliey  were  ready  "  to 
follow  Christ."  We  cannot  dwell  upon  these  events. 
It  was  His  own  proposal  to  cross  the  lake.  Did 
He  not  foresee  the  storm  ?  Did  He  not  know  that 
that  tranquil  evening  (for  such  it  no  doubt  was)  would 
prove  the  harbinger  of  a  tempestuous  night  ?  Why 
not,  then,  wait  on  shore,  or  at  some  quiet  anchorage, 
until  the  morning?  Certainly  He  knew  it  all.  But 
was  that  a  reason  why  He  should  postpone  His  voy- 
age ?  Rather  the  reverse.  To  Himself  personally 
sunshine  and  storm  were  alike.  And  as  to  His  dis- 
ciples, all  His  intercourse  with  them  was  made 
subservient  to  their  needful  training  for  their  high 
mission.  He  had  gathered  lessons  for  them  from 
the  lilies  of  the  field  and  the  fowls  of  the  air.  He 
will  have  nature  speak  to  them  also  in  louder  and 
grander  tones.  The  tornado  shall  become  their 
teacher.  They  must  learn  that  if  they  mean  to  fol- 
low Him  their  path  will  not  always  lie  along  the 
peaceful  strand  and  the  grain-fringed  roads;  but 
among  thorns  as  well,  and  thickets  of  suffering 
and  danger.  He  would  teach  His  disciples  in  every 
age  not  to  be  surprised  nor  depressed  if  they  should 
find  their  sky  suddenly  clouded  over  and  their  way 
beset  with  perils.  Nor  must  they  infer  from  such  an 
experience  that  they  had  mistaken  the  path  of  duty 
and  forgotten  their  Guide.  It  is  He  Himself  who 
leads  His  disciples  right  into  the  face  of  the  coming 


The  Stilling  of  the  Tempest.  207 

hurricane  :  and  so  He  has  been  dealing  with  them 
from  that  hour  to  this.  How,  otherwise,  should  they 
ever  attain  that  true  development  which  flows  only 
from  the  discipline  of  sorrow  ?  Or  how  be  fitted  to 
enjoy  the  heavenly  rest?  But  this  is  to  anticipate 
our  subject. 

They  launch  forth  upon  the  lake.  The  Saviour 
retires  to  the  stern  of  their  little  bark,  and,  lying 
down,  falls  asleep.  Mark  alone  mentions  that  this 
was  in  the  hinder  part  of  the  ship,  and  that  His 
head  was  "  on  a  pillow," — probably  the  leather  cush- 
ion of  the  pilot.  I  refer  to  it  only  as  an  illustration 
of  the  style  of  this  Evangelist.  It  is  one  of  his  pecu- 
liarities to  mention  details.  Thus  he  alone,  of  the 
three  historians  that  describe  this  miracle,  speaks  of 
the  pillow.  Nor  does  either  Matthew  or  Luke  men- 
tion that  there  were  other  vessels,  "other  little  ships," 
in  company  with  the  one  that  bore  the  Master.* 
Presently  a  storm  arises.  No  unusual  thing  upon 
this  lake:  nor  upon  any  lake  shut  in  by  mountains 
which  are  pierced  by  deep  gorges  stretching  up 
from  the  water.  A  "  great  tempest"  it  was.  The 
tranquil  sea  was  churned  into  a  furious  turmoil. 
The  waves  dashed  into  the  boat.     "  It  was  covered 


*  So,  also,  in  describing  the  miracle  of  the  feeding  of  the  five 
thousand,  Mark  alone  says  they  sat  down  on  "ih^  green  grass"  (ch. 
vi-39)- 


2o8  The  Stilling  of  the  Tempest. 


with  the  waves"  (says  Matthew).  "  They  were  filled 
with  water"  (Luke).  "  The  waves  beat  into  the  ship" 
(says  Mark,  characteristically)  "  so  that  it  was  now 
full."  His  companions  were  not  men  to  be  easily 
frightened.  They  were  seafaring  men.  That  lake 
was  their  familiar  fishing-ground.  They  had  en- 
countered many  a  storm  there.  But  never,  we  may 
presume,  a  storm  like  this.  What  with  the  violence 
of  the  gale,  the  turbulent  sea,  the  billows  threaten- 
ing every  moment  to  submerge  their  frail  vessel 
already  filling  with  water,  all  aggravated  by  the 
thick  darkness  of  the  night,  it  was  natural  they 
should  think  themselves  "  in  jeopardy." 

Meanwhile  the  Master  sleeps  on.  How  beautiful 
and  striking  the  contrast, — the  composure  of  that 
peaceful  sleeper  amidst  the  raging  of  the  elements, 
the  quivering  of  the  little  fishing-craft,  and  the  con- 
sternation of  the  disciples  !  Exhausted  by  the  work 
of  that  eventful  day,  the  slumber  into  which  He  falls 
is  so  profound  that  nothing  of  all  this  clamor  dis- 
turbs it.  It  is  the  only  instance  in  which  we  read  of 
His  sleeping.  Doubtless  He  did  sleep  as  other  men 
do;  but  it  might  have  seemed  peculiar  to  mention 
it  except  in  some  incidental  way  as  here.  The 
Divine  Spirit  will  omit  no  circumstance  which  may 
be  requisite  to  establish  the  humanity  of  our  Lord. 
Elsewhere  we  see  Him  subject  to  hunger  and  thirst 
and  fatigue;  to  joy  and- sorrow  and  tears.     Now  we 


The  Stilling  of  the  Tempest.  209 

behold  the  proof  that  His  frame,  like  our  own,  re- 
quired to  be  recruited  by  sleep. 

The  spectacle  is  one  to  be  pondered.  It  is  very 
suggestive.  One  is  ready  to  ask,  "  How  could  He 
sleep  who  was  clothed  with  absolute  Divinity  ?  The 
Divine  nature  cannot  sleep.  And  if  the  two  natures 
are  so  intitnately  and  indissolubly  united  in  His  per- 
son, how  could  the  humanity  slumber  while  the 
Deity  wakes  ?"  Questions  like  these  come  unbid- 
den to  the  lips.  They  would  come  even  if,  with  all 
our  present  knowledge  of  His  constitution,  we  could 
stand  by  the  Saviour,  once  more  a  pilgrim  on  the  earth, 
and  see  Him  asleep.  The  instinctive  feeling  would 
be,  "  How  can  these  things  be?"  We  do  not  know. 
We  are  neither  required  nor  permitted  to  know. 
The  union  of  the  two  natures  in  Christ  must  be  a 
mystery  to  the  angels.  All  that  we  are  concerned 
with  is  the  fact.  We  accept  the  fact  on  God's  own 
testimony.  It  is  of  the  essence  of  a  genuine  faith  to 
believe,  on  such  testimony,  where  it  cannot  fully 
comprehend.  Nor  is  the  task  imposed  upon  faith 
by  this  spectacle  really  any  greater  than  that  by 
which  it  is  exercised  throughout  the  entire  history 
of  the  Saviour.  The  faith  that  can  stand  by  the 
manger  of  Bethlehem  and  adore,  is  ready  for  all  that 
follows.  And,  duly  considered,  there  is  nothing 
more  remarkable  in  Christ's  sleeping  than  in  His 
eating  and  drinking  and  weeping  and  suffering.     All 

18* 


2IO  The  Stilling  of  the  Tempest. 

this  was  indispensable.  He  must  be  "  very  man" 
no  less  than  "very  God."  The  humanity  entire,  sin 
alone  excepted,  must  be  blended  with  the  Divinity 
entire.  Redemption  demanded  this.  And  our  com- 
fort demanded  it.  Not  to  speak  of  the  strength 
with  which  it  has  inspired  thousands  of  Christian 
travellers  when  overtaken  by  storms  at  sea,  how 
many  faithful  disciples  have  betaken  themselves,  in 
their  hours  of  bodily  and  mental  exhaustion,  to  this 
bark  upon  Gennesareth,  and  gathered  rest  and  peace 
from  looking  upon  that  placid  sleeper!  How  it 
brings  home  to  the  bosom,  even  more  than  the 
other  functions  of  His  humanity,  the  sense  of  His 
oneness  with  us ;  the  complete  identity  of  His 
nature  with  our  own!  And  how  instructive  and 
consolatory  the  moral  aspects  of  the  whole  scene, 
as  bearing  upon  the  troubles  of  life !  But  of  this 
hereafter. 

The  effect  produced  upon  the  disciples  was  what 
might  have  been  anticipated, — i.e.,  it  was  in  keeping 
with  what  we  have  seen  of  them  before.  They  can- 
not survey  this  appalling  scene  unmoved.  Their 
boat  is  filling  with  water.  Their  skill  avails  nothing 
against  the  tempest.  Death,  as  they  imagine,  stares 
them  in  the  face.  These  are  crises  in  which  men  do 
not  stop  to  reason.  There  is  a  tumult  within  which 
matches  the  tumult  without,  and  precludes  sober 
reflection.     Had  they  known  as  much  of  their  Lord 


The  Stilling  of  the  Tempest,  211 

as  they  knew  after  the  day  of  Pentecost,  His  rest 
had  not  been  disturbed.  They  would  have  felt  that 
the  waves  could  no  more  swallow  up  the  vessel  in 
which  He  was  a  passenger,  than  they  could  ingulf 
the  mountains  that  shut  them  in.  But  as  yet  they 
were  not  certain  as  to  His  dominion.  They  saw  Him 
as  through  a  glass  darkly.  They  loved  Him.  They 
reverenced  Him.  They  believed  in  Him.  But  it 
was  not  with  the  imperial  faith  with  which  they 
afterward  went  forth  to  make  Him  known  to  a 
ruined  world,  and  to  proclaim  in  the  ears  of  princes 
and  potentates  that  they  must  "  kiss  the  Son"  or 
perish.  Their  slender  faith  trembled  like  the  beams 
of  their  little  bark  in  the  gale.  Its  weakness  and  its 
truthfulness  were  both  revealed.  Its  weakness,  in 
their  awaking  the  Master  at  all :  its  truthfulness,  in 
their  confidence  that  He  could  help  them.  Without 
faith,  or  with  a  strong  faith,  they  might  have  left  Him 
to  sleep  on  :  in  the  one  case,  surrendering  themselves 
to  downright  despair ;  in  the  other,  assured  that, 
sleeping  or  waking.  His  presence  must  shield  them 
from  death.  But  now,  with  a  wavering  faith,  they 
arouse  Him  by  their  outcries,  whom  all  the  turbu- 
lence of  the  storm  had  failed  to  disturb. 

They  deferred  it,  we  must  believe,  to  the  last  mo- 
ment. They  hoped  the  wind  might  abate.  They 
hoped  to  bring  their  boat  under  control.  Failing  in 
this,  they  would  say  among  themselves,  "  Surely  He 


2 1 2  The  Stilling  of  the  Tempest. 


must  awake  soon.  He  cannot  slumber  through  such 
a  tornado,"  But  He  wakes  not.  The  danger  thick- 
ens, and  with  one  accord  they  hasten  to  Him, — a 
group  of  anxious  men,  with  terror  depicted  in  every 
countenance,  and  deep  dejection  in  every  tone,  kneel- 
ing around  that  serene  sleeper, — "  Lord,  save  us :  we 
perish :  carest  Thou  not  that  we  perish  ?"  The 
broken  outcries  of  distress,  uttered,  in  the  language 
they  used,  in  fewer  words  than  we  employ  in 
translating  them.  According  to  Luke  there  is  a 
quick  iteration  of  the  title,  "  Master,  Master,  we 
perish !"  This  again  is  nature.  Doubtless  they  all 
joined  in  the  vehement  appeal.  But  what  must  be 
thought  of  the  ["t>  /^s-^-st  ff"f,]  "  carest  Thou  not?"  He 
had  never  heard  such  language  before  from  the  lips 
of  a  disciple.  Once  afterward  He  did  hear  it,  the 
identical  phrase ;  for  it  was  with  this  unseemly  ex- 
pression Martha  came  to  Him  complaining  of  Mary: 
"  Dost  Thou  not  care — is  it  nothing  to  Thee — that  my 
sister  hath  left  me  to  serve  alone  ?"  (Luke  x.  40.) 
In  Martha's  case. there  was  very  little  to  extenuate 
the  rudeness.  The  disciples  might  plead  the  alarm 
and  agitation  of  the  moment.  And  yet  this  could 
not  justify  the  language.  They  had  no  right  to  re- 
proach their  Lord  in  this  way  with  neglecting  their 
safety.  If  there  was  danger,  it  was  danger  He  shared 
with  them.  If  there  was  death.  He  must  die  with 
them.     They  quite  forgot  the  reverence  which  was 


The  Stilling  of  the  Tempest.  213 


due    Him.     But   for  the   overpowering  influence  of 
fear  this  incident  could  not  have  occurred. 

And,  unhappily,  the  offence  has  been  often  repeated 
since.  If  you  have  been  much  conversant  with 
scenes  of  bereavement,  you  will  have  heard  similar 
reproaches  cast  upon  God,  and,  perhaps,  far  worse, 
because  uttered  after  the  crisis  of  the  affliction  has 
gone  by.  I  do  not  allude  to  the  despondency  which 
may  follow  a  great  and  sudden  loss :  nor  to  the  sad 
and  conscious  inability  of  a  stricken  heart  to  pene- 
trate the  "  clouds  and  darkness"  of  God's  dispen- 
sations. But  to  the  presumptuous  sentiment  not 
unfrequently  uttered,  that  God  has  imposed  an  "  un- 
necessary" trial ;  that  He  has  acted  harshly;  that  He 
"does  not  care"  for  the  sufferer  His  rod  has  visited. 
I  have  sometimes  heard  language  of  this  sort  which 
made  me  shudder.  "  Who  art  thou  that  repliest 
against  God?"  Much  maybe  conceded  to  the  an- 
guish of  spirit  caused  by  a  sore  affliction.  But  it  is 
not  for  a  worm  of  the  dust  to  challenge  the  right- 
eousness and  wisdom  of  any  of  the  Divine  dispen- 
sations. To  lose  our  confidence  in  God,  in  His 
unchangeable  wisdom,  rectitude,  and  faithfulness,  is 
to  lose  everything.  The  moment  we  cast  off  that 
fastening,  we  are  abroad  upon  a  shoreless  and  tem- 
pestuous ocean,  without  chart  or  compass.  And  to 
go  still  further  and  reproach  Him  for  what  He  does, 
or  for  what  He  omits  to  do,  what  is  this  but  to  in- 


214  ^^^  Stilling  of  the  Tempest. 

vokc  fresh  judgments  upon  our  heads  ?  To  say  that 
He  does  not  merit  these  censures,  is  to  say  very 
httle.  "  Shall  not  the  Judge  of  all  the  earth  do 
right?"  He  cannot  do  otherwise:  His  holy  and 
"  immutable"  nature  forbids  it.  The  sufferers  who 
call  in  question  His  equity  or  His  kindness,  often 
see  both  these  qualities  illustrated  in  the  issue  of 
the  very  allotments  which  have  so  embittered  them. 
And  they  might  learn  from  His  word  that  all  such 
providences  will  be  fully  cleared  up  hereafter. 

"  Dost  Thou  not  care  that  we  perish  ?"     Of  course 
He  cares.    He  has  no  thought  of  letting  you  be  lost. 

"Judge  not  the  Lord  by  feeble  sense," 

ye  timid  fishermen.  Though  He  sleep,  He  is  not 
unmindful  of  you.  He  loves  you  too  well  to  let  you 
perish  here;  and  you  shall  have  an  instant  proof 
of  His  love  in  the  gentle  reproof  with  which  He 
requites  your  unseemly  remonstrance.  Mark  and 
Luke  make  His  mandate  to  the  storm  precede  His 
address  to  the  disciples.  Matthew  reverses  the  order, 
and  with  connecting  particles  which  show  that  this 
is  the  true  sequence.  It  harmonizes  the  accounts  to 
suppose  that  after  a  single  word  to  the  sea,  He  spoke 
to  the  disciples,  and  then  again  addressed  the  sea. 
Still  retaining  His  recumbent  posture,  He  opens  His 
eyes  upon  the  excited  group  around  Him,  and  says 
— What  would    you    have    expected    Him  to   say? 


The  Stilling  of  the  Tempest.  215 

What  would  you  have  clone  but  rebuke  them  for 
their  ungracious,  "  Dost  Thou  not  care?"  But  "  His 
ways  are  not  as  our  ways."  He  bears  their  reproach 
in  silence.  Without  even  noticing  it,  He  mildly  re- 
proves their  want  of  confidence  in  Him  :  "  Why  are 
ye  fearful,  O  ye  of  little  faith  ?"  "  What  is  there  in 
this  storm  to  fill  you  with  such  alarm  ?  What  has 
become  of  your  trust  in  my  power  and  faithfulness? 
Whom  do  you  take  me  to  be,  that  you  can  imagine 
we  are  in  peril  of  shipwreck  ?"  And  then  rising, — 
not  till  then, — for  thus  it  is  written  :  "  Then  He 
arose,  and  rebuked  the  winds  and  the  sea ;  and  there 
was  a  great  calm."  Or,  as  Mark  gives  it  more  mi- 
nutely, "  He  arose,  and  rebuked  the  wind,  and  said 
unto  the  sea,  '  Peace,  be  still.'  And  the  wind  ceased, 
and  there  was  a  great  calm." 

This  brings  us  into  the  presence  of  a  stupendous 
miracle.  Beginning  to  exercise  His  miraculous 
powers  almost  with  the  opening  of  His  ministry.  He 
h^d  on  numerous  occasions  displayed  His  control 
over  different  forms  of  disease,  and  in  one  instance 
over  death  itself  He  had  cured  paralysis,  fever,  and 
leprosy.  He  had  in  two  instances  healed  the  sick 
when  at  a  distance  from  them  ;  in  one  case,  several 
miles  away.  At  Nain,  He  had  restored  the  widow's 
son  to  life.  He  had  cast  out  demons.  But  there 
was  one  sphere  which,  up  to  this  time,  He  had  not 
entered.     It  was  settled   that  He   had  the    mastery 


2i6  The  Stilling  of  the  Tempest. 


over  the  most  malignant  types  of  disease ;  that  death 
paid  Him  homage;  and  devils  trembled  before  Him. 
But  would  nature  own  Him  as  her  Lord  ?  Would 
the  elements  confess  His  supremacy  ?  This  had 
been  claimed  of  old  as  a  Divine  prerogative.  It  is 
one  of  our  intuitive  convictions  that  God  alone  has 
absolute  control  over  the  powers  of  nature.  We 
scarcely  require  an  inspired  pen  to  inform  us  that 
"the  sea  is  His,  and  He  made  it;  that  He  sitteth 
upon  the  flood,  and  stilleth  the  noise  of  the  seas,  the 
noise  of  their  waves,  and  the  tumult  of  the  people." 
What,  then,  are  we  to  think  of  the  scene  here  pre- 
sented ?  Rising  out  of  His  tranquil  sleep,  Jesus 
looks  abroad  from  the  deck  of  that  tempest-tossed 
boat,  and  utters  two  words  only,  -icu-a  /  Ihftiiwao ! 
*'  Peace  !  Be  still !"  The  first  referring  to  the  noise, 
the  second  to  the  violence,  of  the  waves  :  or,  as  some 
prefer,  the  first  addressed  to  the  wind,  the  second  to 
the  sea.  And  instantly  "  they  ceased,  and  there 
was  a  calm." 

All  three  of  the  Evangelists  use  the  word  "  re- 
buked" :  "  He  rebuked  the  winds  and  the  sea."  The 
peculiar  significance  of  this  term  has  given  counte- 
nance to  a  conjecture  sanctioned  by  many  eminent 
critics,  that  our  Saviour  had  in  view  not  merely  the 
storm,  but  the  evil  spirits  by  whose  agency  it  had 
been  stirred  up.  Our  information  on  this  subject  is 
very  meagre.    But  Satan  is  styled  the  "  Prince  of  the 


The  Stilling  of  the  Tempest.  217 

power  of  the  air."  It  is  certain  he  can  do  nothing 
in  that  region  except  as  he  receives  permission.  But 
in  one  memorable  instance  the  curtain  is  hfted,  and 
we  knoiv  he  was  concerned  in  getting  up  the  hurri- 
cane that  whelmed  the  children  of  Job  in  the  ruins 
of  the  house  where  they  were  feasting.  If  this  oc- 
curred with  one  storm,  why  not  with  others?  And 
if  in  any  other,  why  not  in  this  one  on  Tiberias  ? 
For  it  is  not  to  be  overlooked  that  this  voyage 
across  the  lake  was  not  a  mere  pleasure-excursion. 
Its  incidental  design  was  to  afford  the  Saviour  an 
opportunity  for  needful  rest.  But  there  was  another 
end  to  be  accomplished.  On  the  eastern  shore  of 
the  lake,  just  where  the  prow  of  their  vessel  was 
pointing,  there  were  two  of  the  most  wretched  crea- 
tures to  be  found,  I  will  not  say  in  Palestine,  but  on 
the  globe.  A  whole  legion  of  devils  had  entered  into 
them,  and  reduced  them  to  a  condition  which  is  but 
imperfectly  illustrated  by  the  most  extreme  and  vio- 
lent types  of  insanity  known  to  the  world.  Beyond 
the  reach  of  all  human  help,  their  pitiable  condi- 
tion invited  the  sympathy  of  the  Great  Physician. 
Neither  His  fatigue,  nor  the  impending  storm,  shall 
impede  Him  on  His  mission  of  mercy.  He  is  re- 
solved to  release  these  prisoners  of  Satan  from  their 
horrid  bondage ;  and  to  visit  His  displeasure  upon 
the  demons  that  possessed  them.  With  much  less 
sagacity  than  they  may  lay  claim  to,  the  Arch-adver- 

19 


2 1 8  The  Stilling  of  the  Tempest. 

sary  and  his  hosts  might  surmise  the  object  of  the 
trip.  And  surmising  it,  there  is  nothing  romantic  in 
the  idea  tliat  they  would  set  themselves  to  counter- 
work it.  This  midnight  voyage  in  a  fragile  boat 
offered  a  tempting  opportunity  to  try  their  skill  in 
getting  up  a  gale.  And  He  who  for  wise  purposes 
indulged  them  in  the  kindred  assault  upon  the 
family  of  the  patriarch,  allowed  them  to  make  this 
demonstration  also,  in  order  that  Jesus  might  achieve 
a  double  victory  over  them,  first  on  the  sea,  and  then 
on  the  land. 

It  was,  then,  if  we  may  accept  this  view,  a  literal 
"  rebuke"  which  fell  from  His  lips.  He  spoke  as 
well  to  the  malignant  spirits  who  were  fanning  this 
storm  as  to  the  storm  itself.  In  any  event,  the  effect 
that  followed  was  marvellous.  That  voice  would 
scarcely  be  heard  beyond  the  bulwarks  of  the  small 
bark.  And  yet  it  zvas  heard  far  and  near.  The 
fury  of  the  wind  could  not  arrest  it.  The  surging 
of  the  billows  could  not  drown  it.  It  penetrated  the 
cloud-laden  atmosphere  of  that  dismal  night.  It 
spread  over  the  wide  bosom  of  Gcnnesareth.  Where 
a  cannon's  roar  would  have  been  lost  in  the  turmoil, 
it  resounded  along  the  rock-bound  shore.  The  gale 
heard  it,  and  hushed  to  silence.  The  waves  heard 
it,  and  sank  to  rest.  While  their  Master  sleeps,  the 
restless  elements  bur.st  from  their  repose  into  frantic 
disorder.     The   Master  wakes,  and   instantly,  not  as 


The  Stilling  of  the  Tempest.  219 

storms  usually  subside,  by  a  gradual  ebb,  they  lie 
down  at  His  feet  in  a  slumber  as  tranquil  as  His 
own.  Two  brief  words  have  done  it  all.  The  emi- 
nent Greek  philosopher  and  critic,  Longinus,  quotes, 
as  a  signal  example  of  the  sublime,  that  Divine  com- 
mand, "  Let  there  be  light !  And  there  was  light." 
There  is  perhaps  no  second  instance  on  record 
which  so  nearly  approximates  to  it  as  the  one  we 
are  considering.  "  Peace  !  Be  still !  And  there  was 
a  great  calm."  "  A  great  calm," — instant,  perfect, 
universal;  the  whole  air  still;  the  whole  lake  still. 
Nature  hears  the  majestic  voice, 

"  And  crowns  Him  Lord  of  all !" 

We  are  prepared  for  what  followed.  His  simple- 
minded,  loving  companions,  "  being  afraid,  won- 
dered, saying  one  to  another.  What  manner  of  man 
is  this,  that  even  the  wind  and  the  sea  obey  Him  ?" 
Any  other  effect  would  have  excited  our  wonder. 
Their  appeal  to  Him  implied  a  certain  measure  of 
faith.  It  was  made  with  a  vague  feeling  that  He 
might  possibly  do  something  to  relieve  them.  In 
any  event,  it  would  comfort  them  to  have  Him 
a\yake ;  to  feel  that  He  was  really  with  them  and 
cognizant  of  their  danger, — precisely  as  a  child  on 
board  a  ship  which  is  overtaken  by  a  storm,  feels 
calmer  and  safer  to  have  his  father  awake  than 
asleep.    They  did  not  know  what  He  would  do.    They 


220  '  The  Stilling  of  the  Tempest. 


certainly  had  no  thought  of  the  scene  that  followed. 
They  had  seen  many  a  storm  wax  and  wane ;  but 
never  one  which  terminated  as  this  did,  in  the 
twinkling  of  an  eye,  and  at  the  bidding  of  a  human 
voice.  How  could  they  help  saying,  "  What  man- 
ner of  man  is  this  ?" 

It  must  be  our  feeling  too.  Every  thoughtful 
reader  of  this  narrative  must  be  ready  to  exclaim, 
"  What  manner  of  man  is  this  ?"  You  have  some- 
times placed  yourselves  by  the  proto-martyr  Stephen. 
And  as  you  have  heard  him  say,  "  Behold,  I  see  the 
heavens  opened,  and  the  Son  of  man  standing  on 
the  right  hand  of  God  ;"  and  then,  presently,  with 
his  last  breath,  "Lord  Jesus,  receive  my  spirit!" 
you  would  hardly  be  able  to  repress  the  feeling, 
"  What  manner  of  man  is  this,  '  the  Son  of  man,'  who 
stands  beside  the  eternal  throne  and  receives  the 
spirits  of  departed  saints  into  the  highest  heavens  ?'  " 
Now  you  place  yourselves  on  board  that  slender 
transport  on  Gennesareth,  and  see  "  this  same  Jesus" 
hush  its  turbulent  waves  to  rest  by  a  word;  and 
again  you  ask,  in  reverent  awe,  "  WJiat  manner  of 
man  is  this?"  If  you  hesitate  for  an  answer,  the 
Psalmist  will  relieve  you.  "  The  Lord  on  high  is 
mightier  than  the  noise  of  many  waters,  yea,  than 
the  mighty  waves  of  the  sea."  "  Thou  rulest  the 
raging  of  the  sea :  when  the  waves  thereof  arise. 
Thou  stillest  them."     "  The  waters  stood  above  the 


The  Stilling  of  tJie  Tempest.  221 


mountains  :  at  Thy  rebuke  they  fled ;  at  the  voice  of 
Thy  thunder  they  hasted  away."  (Ps.  xciii.  4  ;  Ixxxix. 
9  ;  civ.  6,  7.)  Have  you  occasion  to  ask,  "  Of  whom 
speaketh  the  Psalmist  this?"  You  know  well  that 
there  is  but  One  Being  in  the  universe  of  whom 
these  things  could  be  affirmed  :  that  to  ascribe  them 
to  any  mere  creature  would  be  blasphemy.  Yet  this 
very  sovereignty  over  the  sea  is  exercised  here,  as  it 
were,  before  your  eyes,  by  Jesus  of  Nazareth.  Can 
you  doubt,  then,  zvJio  it  is  that  stands  upon  the  deck 
of  that  little  vessel  and  commands  the  sea  ?  Can 
that  sublime,  "  Peace  !  Be  still !"  be  any  other  than 
the  echo  of  the  voice  which  said  to  the  primeval 
chaos,  "  Let  there  be  light !"  and  there  was  light  ? 
In  this  way  do  the  Scriptures  bear  constant  and 
emphatic  testimony  to  the  supreme  Deity  of  our 
Redeemer. 

The  symbolical  reference  of  this  narrative  to  the 
history  of  the  Church  and  the  experience  of  indi- 
vidual believers,  is  too  obvious  not  to  have  been 
often  dwelt  upon. 

The  Church,  "  in  crossing  over  to  the  other  side," 
has  fared  very  much  as  did  this  boat  upon  Tiberias. 
It  had  scarcely  cast  off  its  moorings  before  the 
storms  began  to  beat  upon  it.  And  they  have  not 
ceased  to  this  hour.  Intervals  of  calm  there  have 
been,  bright  days  of  sunshine.     But  these  are  merely 

19* 


2  22  The  Stilling  of  the  Tejnpest. 

lulls  in  the  gale.  A  rough  voyage  it  has  been,  as  it 
promises  to  be  to  the  end.  Sometimes,  indeed,  the 
tempest  has  been  very  violent.  The  ark,  freighted 
with  these  priceless  treasures,  has  been  swept  by  the 
waves  of  deadly  hate  and  passion,  and  threatened  with 
destruction.  Voyagers  of  stronger  nerve  than  those 
who  sailed  that  night  on  the  unquiet  lake,  have  been 
alarmed  for  the  result.  And,  what  has  heightened 
their  fears,  the  Master  has  seemed  to  be  "  asleep." 
They  knew  that  He  could  extricate  them.  But  He 
did  not  come.  They  called  to  Him.  They  impor- 
tuned Him.  Still,  He  came  not.  He  came  not — 
until  their  faith  and  constancy  were  fully  tried,  and 
the  moment  had  arrived  most  fit  for  His  interven- 
tion. Then  He  did  come.  And  He  said  to  the 
surging  billows,  ''Peace!  Be  still !"  And  they 
ceased  their  raging  ;  and  He  brought  His  wearied 
Church  out  into  a  tranquil  sea. 

Thus  also  it  happens  with  His  disciples  in  their 
personal  history.  This  voyage  is  a  type  of  the 
Christian  life.  The  object  to  be  accomplished  is 
to  "  cross  the  narrow  sea."  The  proposal  comes  in 
every  instance — as  it  came  in  the  case  before  us — 
from  the  Master  Himself:  "  Let  us  pass  over  unto 
the  other  side."  Who  among  you,  my  brethren, 
would  ever  have  set  out  on  this  voyage  for  the 
"better  country"  if  you  had  not  heard  His  voice  say- 
ing to  you/'  Follozv  ine—\o  the  other  side"  ?     That 


The  Stilling  of  the  Tempest.  223 

you  should  encounter  storms,  was  a  thing  of  course. 
He  warned  you  of  this  before  starting,  and  bade  you 
"  count  the  cost."  It  should  occasion  neither  sur- 
prise nor  discouragement,  then,  if  you  find  that  you 
are  traversing  a  tempestuous  sea.  Our  resource  is 
precisely  that  of  the  disciples.  The  believer  hastens, 
in  the  cloudy  and  dark  day,  to  his  Refuge.  He  flies 
to  Christ  as  instinctively  as  that  little  company  did 
in  the  gale.  A  token  of  His  Divinity  it  is  that 
He  can  listen  to  so  many  appeals  at  once.  For  they 
are  going  up  to  Him  from  every  part  of  the  globe. 
Wherever  there  is  a  disciple  in  want,  in  danger,  in 
sorrow,  in  suffering,  he  is  crying,  "  Lord,  save  !" 
What  an  ear  must  that  be  which  is  never  confused 
by  these  myriad-voices !  What  a  bosom  that  can 
entertain  these  myriad-complaints  !  What  an  intelli- 
gence that  can  provide  for  these  myriad-wants  ! 

For  it  is  not  only  our  own  troubles  that  we  spread 
before  Him.  We  go  to  Him — it  is  our  privilege  to 
do  so — with  the  cares  and  sorrows  of  our  friends,  of 
the  Church,  of  our  country,  of  the  world.  This  is 
our  resource  when  true  religion  is  declining,  when 
the  love  of  many  is  waxing  cold,  and  formalism  is 
supplanting  real  devotion,  and  the  unconverted  are 
growing  more  obdurate,  and  a  mighty  freshet  of 
worldliness  is  breaking  over  the  Church  ;  at  such  a 
juncture  (and  tliis  is  one  of  them)  faithful  disciples 
will  be  found  kneeling  at  His  feet  and  crying,  "  Lord, 


2  24  The  Stilling  of  the  Tempest. 


save,  or  we  perish  !"  And  in  a  time  of  public  ca- 
lamity, as  during  those  long  years  of  war  which  del- 
uged our  land  with  the  blood  of  brothers,  and  seemed 
to  be  sweeping  us  on  towards  an  abyss  which  no  man 
could  fathom,  from  ten  thousand  burdened  hearts  the 
cry  went  up  continually,  "Lord,  save,  or  we  perish  /" 

That  He  does  not  always  answer  at  once,  we  know 
too  well.  And  alike  with  our  public  and  our  private 
sorrows,  when  He  delays  we  are  prone  to  fear  that 
He  is  "asleep";  that  He  "  does  not  care."  But  it  is 
not  so.  He  hears  all — sees  all — knows  all — and  in 
His  own  good  time,  which  is  always  the  best  time, 
He  will  either  rise  and  rebuke  the  storm,  or  so  assure 
His  people  of  His  presence  with  them,  that  the  fury 
of  the  tempest  shall  not  disturb  their  "perfect  peace." 
In  the  end  He  will  rebuke  it.  To  every  true  disciple 
this  voyage  will  have  an  auspicious  end.  The  haven 
to  which  it  is  conducting  them  will  be  the  more  wel- 
come for  the  perils  of  the  way.  A  blessed  haven  it 
is.  No  night  ever  comes  down  upon  it.  No  vapors 
obscure  it.  No  storms  ruffle  it.  Fed  by  the  river  of 
the  water  of  life,  it  stretches  up  to  the  very  foot  of  the 
throne,  and  its  crystal  depths  reflect  for  evermore  the 
glories  of  the  heaven  of  heavens.  What  do  you  not 
owe  to  One  who  is  conducting  you  to  such  a  haven  ? 
And  what  are  you  doing  to  help  others  on  through 
the  perils  of  the  voyage,  to  this  tranquil  harbor? 

It  is  our  humble  hope  that  we  are  travelling  in  that 


The  Stilling  of  the  Tempest.  225 

bark  which  bears  Jesus  of  Nazareth.  Certain  it  is, 
that  of  the  thousands  of  barks  which  are  traversing 
the  sea  of  hfe,  this  one  alone  can  survive  its  storms. 
Do  you  never  think  of  this, — yon  who  have  not  yet 
owned  Him  as  your  Lord  and  Saviour?  What  de- 
fence have  you  for  the  hour  of  danger?  It  is  swiftly 
approaching.  It  may  be  upon  you  at  any  moment. 
It  will  inevitably  be  upon  you  when  you  draw  near 
to  death.  How  can  you  bear  to  face  that  storm  un- 
friended and  alone  ?  What  would  you  not  give,  amidst 
the  gloom  and  horror  of  a  death-bed,  to  hear  the  ma- 
jestic voice  that  spoke  to  Gennesareth  say  to  the  tur- 
moil without  and  the  fiercer  conflict  within,  ''Peace ! 
Be  still r  Repent  and  believe,  and  you  shall  find 
it  so. 


THE  ARROGANCE  AND  CAPRICIOUSNESS 
OF  THE  WORLD,  IN  DEALING  WITH 
TRUE   RELIGION. 


Matpiiew  xi.   16-19. 


"  But  ivlicrcunto  shall  I  liken  this  generation  ?  It  is 
like  Jinto  children  sitting  in  the  markets,  and  calling 
unto  their  fellozus,  and  saying,  We  have  piped  nnto 
you,  and  ye  have  not  danced ;  we  have  mourned  unto 
you,  and  ye  have  not  lamented.  For  John  came 
neither  eating  nor  drinking,  and  they  say.  He  hath  a 
devil.  The  Son  of  man  came  eating  and  drinking, 
and  they  say.  Behold  a  man  gluttonous,  and  a  zvine- 
bibber,  a  friend  of  publicans  and  sinners.  But  zvis- 
dom  is  Justified  of  her  childroi," 

Our  Saviour  has  just  been  speaking  of  John  the 
Baptist.  Detecting  in  the  minds  of  those  around 
Him  a  certain  disparaging  estimate  of  this  great 
Prophet,  He  vindicates  his  reputation  and  assigns 
him  that  lofty  place  in  the  Divine  economy  of  re- 
demption, accorded  him  by  the  Old  Testament 
writers.  By  a  natural  transition,  He  passes  from 
226 


The  World,  Arrogant  and  Capricious.     227 

this  topic  to  the  treatment  experienced  both  by  the 
Baptist  and  Himself,  as  exhibiting  the  capricious 
temper  of  their  countrymen.  In  His  usual  manner, 
He  brings  out  the  point  He  wishes  to  present  by 
means  of  a  striking  illustration.  "  But  whereunto 
shall  I  liken  this  generation  ?  It  is  like  unto  children 
sitting  in  the  markets,  and  calling  unto  their  fellows, 
and  saying,  We  have  piped  unto  you,  and  ye  have 
not  danced  ;  we  have  mourned  unto  you,  and  ye 
Ijave  not  lamented."  The  word  "  market"  is  of 
broader  significance  in  the  East  than  with  us.  It  is 
the  general  place  of  concourse  for  the  transaction  of 
all  kinds  of  business :  and,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
children  resort  to  it  for  recreation.  The  Saviour, 
observing  their  sports,  made  use  of  them,  as  He  was 
wont  to  do  of  familiar  objects  and  incidents,  to  set 
forth  an  important  moral  lesson.  A  group  of  these 
children  being  collected,  some  of  them  bent  upon 
play,  and  indifferent  whether  it  shall  be  a  mock-festi- 
val or  a  mock-funeral,  complain  of  their  companions 
that  they  will  join  them  in  neither.  "  We  pipe"  (we 
play  you  a  merry  air),  "  and  you  will  not  dance.  We 
try  you  then  in  another  vein,  and  imitate  the  dirge 
performed  over  the  dead:  but  you  refuse  to  simulate 
mourners  and  beat  your  breasts." 

The  critics  are  widely  divided  on  this  passage. 
One  set  insist  that  by  the  children  who  make  the 
complaint,  our  Saviour  designs  to  represent  Himself 


2  28      The  World,  An'ogant  and  Capricious. 

and  the  Baptist.  Others  would  see  Him  and  His 
Forerunner  in  the  silent  children,  who  are  com- 
plained of.  While  a  third  class  contend,  and  in  my 
view  rightly,  that  they  are  not  represented  by  either 
the  complaining  or  the  passive  children ;  the  whole 
group  being  intended  to  illustrate  the  diverse  tem- 
pers of  that  perverse,  fault-finding  generation.  As  if 
He  had  said:  "This  people  resemble  a  host  of  ill- 
humored  children,  whom  it  is  impossible  to  please  in 
any  way;  one  part  desires  this,  and  another  that,  so 
that  they  cannot  agree  upon  any  rational  pursuit  or 
behavior." 

In  this  way  had  they  treated  both  John  and  Him- 
self. What  they  censured  John  for  lacking,  they 
condemned  Jesus  for  having,  and  vice  versa.  "  For 
John  came  neither  eating  nor  drinking;"  or,  as  Luke 
gives  it,  "  neither  eating  bread  nor  drinking  wine." 
Which  means  simply  that  he  denied  himself  the 
common  articles  of  diet.  For  thirty  years  he  lived 
in  a  secluded  region  of  the  country,  subsisting 
chiefly  on  locusts  and  wild  honey,  and  wearing  a 
dress  made  of  camel-skins.  We  have  no  explana- 
tion of  this.  But  thus  far  conjecture  may  aid  us.  It 
was  a  period  of  general  declension  in  religion.  The 
nation  had  sunk  into  the  grossest  impiety  and  cor- 
ruption. Their  priests  were  formalists  and  hypocrites. 
The  people  were  hardened  and  dissolute.  To  John 
was   assigned   the   high   and    rcs[)onsible   mission   of 


The  Worlds  Arrogant  and  Capricious.     229 

arousing  them  from  their  guilty  slumber  by  pro- 
claiming the  advent  of  their  long-expected  Messiah. 
The  emergency  was  not  to  be  met  by  the  mild  notes 
of  dulcimers  and  soft  recorders.  It  demanded  the 
clarion  blast  of  the  trumpet.  The  herald  must  be  a 
stern  man,  one  who  could  thunder  the  terrors  of  the 
law  into  the  ears  of  that  callous  generation,  and 
summon  them  to  prepare  for  their  coming  Lord. 
And  in  this  view,  the  training  of  the  Baptist  was  in 
perfect  keeping  with  the  work  he  had  to  do ;  as  it 
was  amply  vindicated  by  the  startling  effects  which 
attended  his  preaching. 

Had  he  been  the  harbinger  of  a  political  Messiah 
his  austerities  would  have  been  readily  tolerated, — 
as  in  fact  they  were  for  a  considerable  period.  It 
was  not  until  they  saw  the  character  of  Christ  that 
they  assailed  His  Forerunner.  Then,  their  hostility 
assumed  the  most  malignant  form.  It  was  a  part  of 
the  popular  theology  of  the  day,  that  wicked  and 
unclean  spirits  were  wandering  up  and  down  in 
desert  places.  And  they  did  not  hesitate  to  say 
that  the  Baptist's  ascetic  life  was  to  be  ascribed  to 
one  of  these  gloomy  demons  who  had  taken  posses- 
sion of  him  and  driven  him  into  the  wilderness. 
"  They  say,  he  hath  a  devil."  When  his  Master 
came  it  was  in  a  different  guise.  "  The  Son  of  man 
[His  common  title  in  speaking  of  Himself]  came 
eating   and    drinking."     His  home  was   not  in  the 


230     The  World,  Arrogant  and  Capricious. 


desert,  but  in  the  town.  It  would  seem  that  He 
passed  the  first  thirty  years  of  His  life  at  Nazareth. 
From  the  day  of  His  manifestation  to  Israel  till  His 
death,  He  lived  as  a  man  among  men.  He  was 
much  in  Capernaum,  often  at  Jerusalem,  rather  seek- 
ing than  shunning  the  cities  and  villages.  He  min- 
gled freely  with  the  people,  attended  their  marriages 
and  their  funerals,  accepted  invitations  to  their  tables, 
talked  with  them  as  occasion  served  on  any  topics 
they  proposed,  went  up  with  them  to  the  temple,  and 
in  every  way  identified  Himself  with  them  as  one  of 
themselves.  And  herein  He  exposed  Himself  as 
much  to  reproach  as  the  Baptist  had  by  his  oppo- 
site mode  of  life.  John  had  a  "  demon."  Christ 
was  a  "  glutton  and  wine-bibber."  It  was  the  offence 
of  the  one,  that  he  dwelt  in  the  desert :  of  the  other, 
that  He  consorted  with  the  people.  One  was  de- 
nounced as  an  anchoret;  the  other  as  an  epicure. 
Who  could  stand  before  such  a  tribunal  ?  Principles 
were  nothing.  Character  was  nothing.  Actions  were 
nothing.  The  court  had  made  up  its  judgment  be- 
fore hearing  the  argument.  It  sought  no  light,  be- 
cause it  wanted  none.  The  case  was  already  settled. 
It  was  simply  anticipating  the  issue,  and  the  mode  of 
it,  which  afterward  found  expression  at  Pilate's  bar, 
"Crucify  Him!"  "Crucify  Him!" 

The    inconsistency,    however,    exhibited    in    pro- 
nouncing condemnation  alike  upon  the  Master  and 


The  World,  Arrogant  and  CapjHcious.     231 

His  servant  is  rather  apparent  than  real.  The  princi- 
ple was  the  same  in  both  cases,  and  the  animus  the 
same.  The  motive  which  inspired  the  blow  was 
one,  and  the  object  aimed  at  was  one.  For  Jesus 
and  John  were  prophets,  not  of  different  faiths,  but 
of  the  same  faith.  They  came  on  a  common  errand. 
They  published  the  same  Divine  truths.  They 
taught,  and  suffered,  and  ultimately  died  in  the 
same  cause.  And  the  opposition  they  encountered 
was  marked  with  the  same  unity.  It  sprang  from  a 
common  root,  the  universal  enmity  of  the  human 
heart  to  God  and  His  truth.  They  maligned  John 
because  he  was  "  a  man  sent  from  God ;"  and  they 
maligned  Jesus  because  He  came  forth  from  God. 
John  they  persecuted  because  he  preached  the  truth  ; 
and  they  persecuted  Jesus  because  He  "  told  them 
the  truth."  Each  might  have  said  to  them,  "Am  I 
therefore  become  your  enemy  because  I  tell  you  the 
truth?"  (Gal.  iv.  16.)  This  was  their  real  offence. 
And  this  appeal  which  fell  from  the  lips  of  St.  Paul 
in  addressing  a  distant  church,  a  quarter  of  a  century 
later,  shows  that  this  bitter  antipathy  to  God's  truth 
was  no  local  nor  even  national  peculiarity.  It  was, 
in  fact,  the  great  conflict  of  the  ages.  It  was  the 
spirit  that  nerved  the  arm  of  Cain  when  he  assassi- 
nated his  brother;  which  beheaded  John  and  nailed 
Jesus  to  the  cross ;  and  which  has  breathed  in  all 
the  hostility  of  the  world  to  the  Church  from  the 


232      The  World,  Arrogant  and  Capricious. 


fall  to  the  crucifixion  and  from  the  crucifixion  to 
this  hour.  If  you  imagine  it  has  bowed  to  the 
growing  might  and  majesty  of  Christianity,  and  sus- 
pended its  attacks  upon  the  Gospel,  you  are  mis- 
taken. The  essential  spirit  of  the  world  resembles, 
in  one  important  particular,  the  spirit  of  true  re- 
ligion :  it  is  immutable, — I  mean,  of  course,  until  it  is 
subdued  by  Omnipotent  grace,  and  so  transmuted 
into  the  spirit  of  religion.  Darkness  and  light  are 
not  more  at  variance.  Nor  will  it  be  difficult  to 
show  that  the  very  conflict  between  these  powerful 
elements  commemorated  in  the  text,  and  which 
revealed  itself  in  the  apparently  incompatible  asper- 
sions heaped  upon  Christ  and  His  Forerunner,  has 
been  perpetuated  to  the  present  time  and  is  waging 
before  our  eyes.  Herein  lies  the  practical  signifi- 
cance of  this  Scripture  as  a  lesson  for  us, — a  Scrip- 
ture too  little  pondered,  and  rarely,  if  ever,  quoted  as 
having  the  slightest  bearing  upon  the  Church  of  our 
day,  or  upon  questions  of  personal  duty. 

For  what  have  we  in  this  narrative  but. a  usurpa- 
tion by  the  world  of  a  right  to  control  the  Church? 
The  Pharisees,  dissatisfied  alike  with  the  Baptist  and 
his  Master,  denounce  their  teaching  and  example  as 
of  evil  tendency.  After  the  day  of  Pentecost,  the 
Sanhedrim  cite  Peter  and  John  before  them,  and 
"  command  them  not  to  speak  at  fill  nor  teach 
in  the  name  of  Jesus."     Must  we  go  back  eighteen 


The  World,  Arrogant  and  Capricious.     233 

centuries  for  facts  of  this  sort?  Go  into  your 
libraries  and  take  down  almost  at  random  the 
favorite  novels  and  magazines  of  the  day,  and  see 
whether  you  do  not  encounter,  if  religion  be  intro- 
duced at  all,  the  same  self-complacent  spirit  in  deal- 
ing with  the  vital  doctrines  of  Christianity.  Your 
sphere  must  be  a  favored  one  if  you  are  not,  now 
and  then,  edified  in  social  life  with  oracular  exposi- 
tions of  Christianity  from  people  who  know  nothing 
of  atonement,  of  repentance,  of  faith,  of  holiness ; 
and  to  whom  the  current  terms  of  theology  are  like 
words  of  an  unknown  dialect.  These  are  people 
who  would  not  have  scrupled  to  dictate  to  John,  or 
even  to  Jesus,  how  He  ought  to  order  His  teaching 
and  His  life.  They  are  not  backward  in  proscribing 
this  or  that  tenet  or  practice  as  having  no  sanction 
from  the  Scriptures.  They  are  jealous  of  attempts 
to  draw  any  dividing  line  between  the  Church  and 
the  world, — as  they  are  also  prompt  at  impugning 
the  motives  of  Christians  who  addict  themselves  to 
a  watchful  and  holy  life. 

The  Church  still  has  its  John  the  Baptists,  its 
stern  preachers  of  repentance,  who  boldly  reprove 
the  sins  and  follies  of  society.  And  it  has  preachers 
who  utter  the  same  warnings,  but  more  in  the  tone 
of  Him  who  wept  while  predicting  the  doom  of  that 
guilty  city  that  "knew  not  the  time  of  its  visitation." 
Both  are  obnoxious  to  the  world's  censures.     "  We 

20* 


234     The  Worldy  Arrogattt  and  Capricious. 

do  not  believe  in  a  sort  of  religion  which  clothes 
people  in  sackcloth ;  which  makes  mirth  a  sin ; 
which  puts  all  amusements  under  ban  ;  which  would 
infold  society  in  an  atmosphere  of  perpetual  gloom. 
Give  us,  rather,  a  religion  which  will  take  its  fill  of 
this  world  while  preparing  for  the  next.  We  see  no 
law  of  asceticism  in  the  New  Testament.  And  the 
preachers  who  enjoin  it  have  mistaken  their  text- 
book." 

This  is  one  of  the  world's  voices,  which  must  be 
familiar  to  every  ear.  A  calm  inquirer  will  note  the 
tone  of  extravagance  which  marks  its  utterances. 
There  is  no  fastidiousness  about  terms  :  no  solicitude 
to  find  out  what  it  is  the  pulpit  condemns,  nor  upon 
what  grounds:  no  judicial  appeal  to  "the  law  and 
the  testimony"  by  way  of  disproving  its  actual  teach- 
ings. The  whole  indictment  is  drawn  with  a  slash- 
ing pen ;  and  the  anathema  pronounced  without 
knowledge,  without  authority,  without  misgiving,  in 
the  face  of  Scripture,  of  reason,  and  of  decency. 

The  inspiration  of  such  attacks  as  these  comes 
from  the  same  source  with  the  cavils  recited  in  the 
text,  the  native  enmity  of  the  heart  to  God.  But 
there  is  a  secondary  agency  conspiring  to  the  same 
end  which  deserves  notice. 

Christianity  has  come  to  be  a  great  power  in  the 
world.  It  counts  not  merely  its  churches,  but  its 
nations :  not  simply  its  provinces,  but  its  continents. 


The  World,  Arrogant  and  Capricious.     235 

It  can  no  longer  be  treated  with  contempt,  as  it  was 
in  the  apostolic  age.  It  sits  on  thrones.  It  gives 
empires  their  laws,  and  administers  them.  It  has  its 
presses.  When  it  speaks — and  it  is  speaking  all  the 
while — it  makes  its  voice  heard.  Millions  worship 
at  its  altars,  and  pay  it  homage  in  their  homes.  It 
is  no  discredit  now  to  follow  in  its  train  and  shout 
"  Hosanna."  There  is  more  honor  gained  by  laud- 
ing than  by  reviling  it.  The  world,  therefore,  has 
fallen  in  love  with  Christianity.  It  affects  religion. 
It  rejoices  in  sermons  and  sacraments.  It  goes  to 
church  punctiliously — of  a  Sunday  morning.  It  dis- 
courses skilfully  of  the  sermon  and  the  music, — how 
good  they  are,  or  how  tame.  It  takes  a  sort  of  pride 
in  hearing  of  large  benefactions  which  have  been 
made  to  religious  objects.  But,  after  all,  it  is  the 
shadow,  not  the  substance,  which  attracts  it.  It  is 
not  real  religion  it  is  smitten  with,  but  a  painted  idol, 
— a  religion  of  its  own  fashioning,  not  the  religion  of 
Christ  and  His  apostles.  The  world  has  no  more 
sympathy  with  a  spiritual  faith  than  it  had  when  it 
shouted,  "Away  with  this  man,  and  release  unto  us 
Barabbas!"  It  would  "be  religious."  By  all  means  : 
it  is  scarcely  reputable  not  "  to  be  religious."  And 
as  long  as  you  will  sum  up  religion  in  a  routine  of 
formal  observances  it  will  not  quarrel  with  you.  But 
beware  how  you  hint  at  cross-bearing.  Beware  of 
pressing  texts   like  these :  "  If  any   man   will  come 


236     The  World,  Arrogant  and  Capricious. 

after  nic,  let  him  deny  himself."  "  Ye  must  be  born 
again."  "  Be  not  conformed  to  this  world."  "  Who- 
soever will  be  a  friend  of  the  world  is  the  enemy  of 
God."  "  Ye  are  not  of  the  world,  but  I  have  chosen 
you  out  of  the  world."  "  Without  holiness  no  man 
shall  see  the  Lord." 

If  you  go  into  the  pulpit  Sunday  after  Sunday 
with  language  like  this  upon  your  tongue,  or  if,  as 
a  private  Christian,  you  carry  it  into  your  intercourse  " 
with  your  friends  and  neighbors,  you  may  lay  your 
account  to  share  the  reproach  of  the  Baptist.  The 
world  will  tell  you  :  "  Thou  bringest  certain  strange 
things  to  our  ears,  thou  miserable  ascetic  !  This  is 
not  Christianity.  Go,  put  on  thy  camel-skin  and 
hasten  to  the  desert.  That  is  the  only  proper  sphere 
for  a  Puritanic  prophet  like  thee !"  This  it  will  be 
in  the  world's  heart  to  say  to  you,  whether  it  find 
utterance  or  not.  For  it  no  more  understands  the 
truths  you  pour  into  its  ears,  than  the  Pharisees  un- 
derstood the  Baptist.  And  in  so  far  as  it  does  com- 
prehend, it  loathes  the  requisitions  you  lay  upon  it. 
No  one  pretends  that  the  sentences  just  quoted  from 
the  New  Testament  comprise  the  whole  of  Chris- 
tianity. But  they  are  a  part  of  it,  an  essential  part, 
and  in  perfect  keeping  with  every  other  line  and 
feature.  When  the  world  alleges  that  to  press  these 
demands  is  to  turn  the  Gospel  of  Christ  into  a  sys- 
tem of  monkery,  it  betrays  the  same  ignorance  and 


The  World,  Arrogant  and  Capricious.     237 


the  same  superciliousness  which  the  Pharisees  exhib- 
ited towards  John.  Speaking  by  the  lips  of  that 
proud  party,  it  told  him  in  effect  that  his  doctrine 
was  not  of  God  but  of  Satan,  and  therefore  unfit  to 
be  listened  to.  And  it  tells  you  that  to  talk  of  bear- 
ing the  cross  and  of  declining  any  of  the  amusements 
involved  in  a  life  of  fashionable  pleasure,  is  to  show 
that  you  have  mistaken  the  whole  genius  of  the 
Christian  reh'gion. 

Not  to  advert  to  the  extreme  modesty  of  these 
self-constituted  expositors  of  the  Gospel,  let  it  suffice 
to  point  out  the  ground  of  the  fallacious  judgments 
they  are  fond  of  pronouncing  upon  the  evangelical 
system  and  its  adherents.  They  see  but  one  side 
of  Christianity ;  and  they  do  not  half  see  that.  The 
side  of  which  they  get  some  glimpses  is  that  which 
pertains  to  its  boundless  compassion,  its  love  and 
mercy,  its  pardon,  its  privileges,  its  salvation.  All 
they  know  or  care  to  know  is,  that  it  brings  us  a 
Saviour.  "Therefore"  (so  the  latent  logic  runs)  "we 
shall  be  saved.  Therefore  let  us  eat,  drink,  and  be 
merry.  And  therefore  hush  with  your  ascetic  no- 
tions about  renouncing  the  world."  Of  the  holiness 
of  God;  of  the  intrinsic  turpitude  of  sin;  of  the  na- 
ture of  the  atonement,  the  new  birth,  the  ground  of 
forgiveness,  the  duty  of  self-consecration  to  God,  the 
life-long  conflict  between  the  flesh  and  the  spirit,  and 
the   necessity  of  "  striving"  if  we  would   enter  in  at 


238      The  World,  Arrogant  a7id  Capricious. 


the  ctrait  gate,  they  have  little  more  conception 
than  a  blind  man  has  of  colors,  or  a  deaf  man  of 
music.  They  have  never  sought  to  learn.  Their 
hearts  are  elsewhere,  filled  with  earthly  passions  and 
earthly  idols.  They  are  compelled  to  recognize  the 
existence  of  Christianity ;  not,  it  is  true,  from  any 
affinity  for  it,  but  as  a  fact  they  cannot  get  rid  of.  It 
lies  across  their  path.  It  meets  them  everywhere. 
It  is  all  around  them.  And  so,  forced  to  acknowledge 
it,  they  look  at  it  through  the  colored  lenses  of  their 
own  passions,  and,  very  naturally,  see  nothing  which 
may  not  blend  with  their  own  selfish  principles  and 
predilections.  Privilege  they  can  see,  but  not  duty: 
promise,  but  not  service:  reward,  but  not  sacrifice. 
He  who  comes  to  them  enforcing  these  unthought- 
of  requirements  preaches  an  unknown  Gospel ;  sets 
up  a  soiled  and  grim-visaged  Christianity,  which 
might  do  for  a  convent-cell,  but  never  for  the  cheerful 
haunts  of  men  and  women  who  live  to  enjoy  life. 

Precisely  so  that  generation  thought  and  talked 
of  the  Baptist.  The  people  flock  to  him  in  the 
wilderness,  and  in  trumpet-tones  he  bids  them,  "  Re- 
pent." When  the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees  come  to 
his  baptism,  he  says  even  to  them,  "  O  generation  of 
vipers,  who  hath  warned  you  to  flee  from  the  wrath 
to  come  ?  Bring  forth,  therefore,  fruits  meet  for 
repentance."  These  burning  words  would  never  be 
forgiven  by  that  self-righteous  generation.    And  they 


The  World,  Arrogant  and  Capricious.     239 

avenge  themselves  by  stigmatizing  him  as  a  demo- 
niac :  "  He  hath  a  devil."  Yet  you  and  I  see  how 
grievously  they  misunderstood  him ;  how  grossly 
they  wronged  him.  Blinded  by  sin  and  passion, 
they  resented  the  allegation  that  they  stood  in  need 
of  "  repentance."  And  mutilating  his  messages,  as 
such  hearers  commonly  do,  they  upbraided  him  for 
his  righteous  severity,  without  heeding  the  ineffable 
mercy  to  which  it  pointed.  For  what  was  his  mes- 
sage ?  "  Repent  ye :  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is 
at  hand."  "  I  indeed  baptize  you  with  water  unto 
repentance  :  but  He  that  cometh  after  me  is  mightier 
than  I,  whose  shoes  I  am  not  worthy  to  bear;  He 
shall  baptize  you  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  with 
fire."  Here  was  the  glad  tidings  that  Israel  had 
been  expecting  for  centuries :  their  Messiah  was  at 
hand.  And  presently  He  came,  and  was  Himself 
baptized  of  John  in  the  Jordan.  The  repentance  the 
Baptist  preached,  was  in  order  to  their  preparation 
for  the  Redeemer  and  all  the  blessings  of  His  reign. 
It  was  no  "demoniacal"  doctrine;  no  arbitrary,  harsh, 
oppressive  exaction.  They  must  repent,  or  they 
would  be  in  no  condition  to  welcome  their  Deliv- 
erer, in  no  state  to  enjoy  the  privileges  of  His  king- 
dom. Not  heeding  this,  they  revile  John  for  bringing 
them  the  only  medicine  which  could  heal  their  souls. 
And  their  successors  tread  closely  in  their  steps. 
For  what  else  does  this  clamor  mean  about  an  "as- 


240     The  World,  Arrogant  and  Capricious. 


cetic  Christianity;"  about  clothing  reHgion  in  sack- 
cloth; and  frowning  upon  recreation;  and  making 
the  way  to  heaven  so  narrow  that  nobody  can  walk 
in  it  ?  If  anybody  does  this,  let  them  bear  the  blame. 
But  if  all  you  mean  be  that  the  pulpit  preaches  re- 
pentance as  John  did,  and  insists  upon  a  separation 
of  the  Church  from  the  world,  then  it  were  well  to 
consider  whose  doctrine  it  is  you  are  reprobating. 
Peradventure  your  controversy  may  be  not  with  man, 
but  with  God.  Nay,  there  is  no  peradventure  in  the 
case.  This  system  which  you  so  injuriously  brand 
as  austere,  unsocial,  and  disheartening,  bears  His 
image  and  superscription.  But  then  it  is  not  what 
you  think  it  to  be.  There  is  nothing  sullen  or  for- 
bidding about  it.  Putting  asunder  what  God  has 
joined  together,  you  sever  the  command  to  repent  and 
the  exhortations  to  a  spiritual  life,  from  the  scheme 
to  which  they  belong  ;  and,  treating  them  as  isolated 
precepts,  complain  that  the  door  you  are  invited  to 
enter  looks  more  like  the  mouth  of  a  sepulchral 
cavern  than  the  gateway  to  a  blooming  paradise.  It 
may  look  so — to  your  eye.  Does  that  prove  that  it 
is  so?  Is  your  impression  borne  out  by  the  testi- 
mony of  any  who  have  passed  through  this  portal  ? 
Did  those  who  actually  received  and  obeyed  the 
teachings  of  the  Baptist  ratify  the  verdict  of  the 
Pharisees  concerning  him  ? 

When  will  men  learn  that  the  order  of  the  Gospel 


The  World,  Arrogant  and  Capricious.     241 

is  the  order  of  nature,  while  false  religions  and  the 
world  reverse  it  ?  "With  the  world,  it  is  like  the 
children  in  the  markets,  first  piping-,  then  mourning; 
the  dance  first,  afterward  the  funeral.  Christianity 
rectifies  this  mistaken  and  pernicious  arrangement. 
Its  ordinance  runs,  the  Baptist  first,  then  Jesus: 
sorrow  first,  joy  afterward :  the  sorrow  in  order 
to  the  joy:  no  joy  without  the  sorrow:  but  the 
sorrow  for  a  day,  the  joy  for  an  eternity.  This  is 
Christianity.  This  is  what  the  Bible  and  the -pulpit 
mean  when  they  preach  repentance  and  self-denial. 
It  is  not  that  the  Gospel  of  Christ  is  the  hand-maid 
of  asceticism  :  nor  that  it  interdicts  mirth:  nor  that 
it  proscribes  recreation:  nor  that  it  includes  a  single 
precept  or  prohibition  which  tends  to  impair  the 
true  enjoyment  of  this  life.  All  allegations  of  this 
sort  are  as  groundless  as  were  the  accusations  of  the 
Jews  against  the  Baptist  and  his  Master.  Proceed- 
ing upon  the  basis  of  undeniable  facts,  it  recognizes 
the  inherent  alienation  of  man  from  his  Maker,  and 
the  essential  hostility  of  the  world  to  God.  For  the 
first,  it  provides  a  remedy  by  liberating  man  from  the 
bondage  of  sin  and  bringing  him  back  in  penitence 
and  faith  to  his  rightful  allegiance:  for  the  second, 
by  inspiring  him  with  a  distaste  for  such  pleasures 
as  have  upon  them  the  taint  of  sin,  and  enlisting 
him  on  the  Lord's  side  in  His  warfare  with  it.  And 
in   effecting  these  results,  it  is  so  far  from  sending 

21 


242     The  World,  Arrogant  and  Capricious. 

him  forth  to  wander  up  and  down  the  earth  as 
through  the  dismal  galleries  of  a  mine  or  among  the 
graves  of  a  vast  cemetery,  that  it  clothes  the  world 
with  a  brighter  radiance  to  his  eyes,  and  quickens 
his  sensibility  to  all  things  good  and  beautiful,  and 
opens  to  him  fresh  sources  of  happiness,  and  makes 
him  feel  that  there  is  equal  mercy  in  what  his  Father 
denies  him  as  in  what  He  grants,  and  so  trains  him 
for  his  final  victory  over  sin  and  death  and  for  his 
crown  of  immortal  glory.  Here  is  the  issue  and  end 
of  those  "  gloomy"  doctrines  which  exasperated  the 
Jews  against  the  Baptist,  and  which,  possibly,  may 
sometimes  have  stirred  your  displeasure  against  the 
sponsors  of  the  evangelical  faith.  Let  the  review 
put  you  upon  your  guard  against  taking  your  views 
of  Christianity  from  those  who  have  not  yet  learned 
its  alphabet,  and  whose  creed  will  coalesce  with  any 
type  of  religion,  provided  only  it  demand  no  sacrifice 
of  self-will  and  no  renunciation  of  the  world. 

I  have  pointed  out  the  radical  identity  of  the  hos- 
tility to  John  and  his  Master,  as  answering  to  the 
essential  oneness  of  their  aims  and  teachings.  The 
world  is  not  scrupulous  as  to  the  point  of  its  attack 
or  its  weapons.  It  only  wants  an  occasion.  The 
alleged  moroseness  of  John,  or  the  amenity  of  Christ, 
— it  is  all  one.  Herod  and  Pilate  will  strike  hands 
here,  though  bitter  foes  on  every  other  theatre. 
"  John    decried   as  a    fanatic  :    Christ    as   a    man    of 


The  World,  Arrogant  and  Capricious.     243 

the  world :  see  how  the  world  reads  characters  !" 
Such  is  the  terse  comment  of  an  able  German  writer 
upon  this  passage.  He  is  correct  in  attributing  both 
judgments  to  the  "world";  and  in  his  satire  upon 
the  world's  sagacity.  Imbecility  surely  reached  its 
climax  when  it  denounced  Hiui  as  a  "  man  of  the 
world,"  who  came  to  die  for  the  sins  of  the  world, 
and  whom  the  world  never  ceased  persecuting 
until  it  compassed  His  death  !  His  crime  was,  that 
He  lived  among  the  people :  that  He  conformed  to 
their  social  customs :  that  He  even  consorted  with 
publicans  and  sinners. 

Now  let  us  guard  this  example  from  perversion. 
It  has  been  proved  that  Christianity  is  not  open  to 
the  charge  of  asceticism.  Had  the  time  permitted, 
it  might  have  been  shown  that  the  unique  and  excep- 
tional mission  of  the  Baptist  furnishes  no  warrant  for 
that  gigantic  system  of  monasticism  which  has  done 
so  much  to  debase  our  holy  religion.  Neither,  on  the 
other  hand,  is  there  anything  in  the  more  social  habits 
of  the  Saviour  to  justify  a  life  of  fashionable  frivolity. 
If  there  be  Christian  professors  who  would  fain  vindi- 
cate their  devotion  to  the  world  by  the  language  He 
uses  here,  let  them  note  precisely  what  He  does  say, 
and  then  study  His  life  for  a  faithful  exposition  of  His 
meaning.  "The  Son  of  man  came  eating  and  drink- 
ing." That  is  all.  The  rest  is  their  comment.  And 
what  a  comment !     We  need  offer  no  denial  of  the 


244     1^^^  World,  Arrogant  and  Capricious. 


gross  aspersion  they  cast  upon  Him,  of  gluttony  and 
intemperance.  But  consider  the  other  charge:  "the 
Friend  of  pubh'cans  and  sinners."  Ah,  ye  worldly- 
minded  professors,  is  this  your  character  ?  When  you 
plead  the  Master's  example  as  an  apology  for  your 
pleasures,  are  you  careful  to  go  into  the  world  as  He 
went  into  it?  Are  the  scenes  in  which  you  delight 
such  scenes  as  He  would  relish  ?  If  He  were  on 
earth  again,  would  you  expect  Him  to  frequent  your 
favorite  places  of  aniusenient  ?  Do  you  never  hear 
His  voice  in  the  interludes,  asking  in  a  tone  of  gentle 
reproach  that  goes  through  and  through  you,  "What 
dost  tJioii  here  ?"  And  has  it  ever  been  conjectured, 
cither  by  yourselves  or  by  any  one  else,  that  you 
went  into  the  world  as  the  "  friends  of  publicans  and 
sinners,"  to  seek  them  out  in  their  guilt  and  misery, 
and  lead  them  to  virtue  and  to  God  ? 

This  is  one  perversion  of  the  Saviour's  language 
and  example.  Another,  the  antithesis  of  this,  is 
quoted  by  Himself,  and  has  been  often  reproduced 
since.  The  formalism  of  His  day  could  not  tolerate 
His  familiar  association  with  the  people:  it  made 
Him  "a  glutton  and  a  wine-bibber."  This  is  only 
another  stream  from  the  same  fountain.  It  is  the 
same  world  which  speaks  by  the  self-righteous  for- 
malist, and  the  pleasure-loving  enthusiast  who  is 
bent  upon  serving  God  and  mammon.  Now,  as  of 
old,  there  are  those  who  make  religion  to  consist  in 


The  World,  Arrogant  and  Capricious.     245 

a  punctilious  observance  of  forms  and  rites  :  who 
withdraw  from  society ;  disdain  even  to  hold  fellow- 
ship with  disciples  who  have  not  learned  their  shib- 
boleth ;  and  frown  upon  cheerfulness  as  almost  a  sin. 
Legalists  they  are,  who  distrust  the  doctrines  of 
grace  as  of  hurtful  tendency.  They  are  afraid  of  a 
free  salvation;  a  salvation  tendered  alike  to  all  classes 
of  men,  the  w^orst  no  less  than  the  best,  solely  on  the 
ground  of  the  Redeemer's  blood  and  righteousness. 
They  cling  to  the  idea  of  human  merit ;  and  are  (as 
they  complacently  imagine)  weaving  out  of  their 
own  performances  a  comely  web  of  goodness,  which, 
with  some  help  from  Christ,  will  hide  all  their  de- 
formities at  the  last  day. 

A  sad  thing  it  is  that  these  people  should  not 
have  their  eyes  opened  to  discover  that  their  Chris- 
tianity is  a  body  without  a  soul.  The  moment  you 
take  away  from  a  religious  system  an  atoning  Sa- 
viour as  the  sole  ground  of  justification,  and  a  re- 
newing Spirit  as  the  only  source  of  holiness,  strength, 
and  comfort,  you  reduce  it  to  the  level  of  a  mere  un- 
inspired philosophy.  It  loses  all  capacity  to  satisfy 
the  cravings  of  the  human  heart.  It  is  stripped  of 
all  power  over  the  conscience.  Mistaking  form  for 
substance,  and  blind  to  all  the  spiritual  glories  of  the 
Gospel,  it  sees  nothing  good  beyond  its  own  narrow 
pale,  and  has  neither  heart  nor  hand  to  succor  a  per- 
ishing world.     Engrossed  with  its  mint,  anise,  and 

21* 


246     The  World,  Arrogant  and  Capricious. 

cummin,  its  selfishness  grows  apace.  Pluming  itself 
on  its  supposed  favor  with  God,  it  cries,  "  I  thank 
Thee  that  I  am  not  as  other  men  are!"  And  shun- 
ning the  touch  of  the  poor  publican  by  its  side  as 
pollution,  it  leaves  him,  and  all  like  him,  to  get  to 
heaven  as  they  may, — its  crown  is  sure.  Of  this 
type  were  the  proud  sectaries  who  could  see  only  a 
low  sensuality  in  the  gentle,  loving  intercourse  of 
Jesus  with  His  fellow-men.  And  their  lineal  succes- 
sors are  with  us  to  this  day.  Let  them  understand 
that  Christianity  is  not  the  feeble,  sickly  thing  they 
would  make  it.  It  does  not  spurn  the  nourishment 
of  the  cloister  in  its  time  and  measure.  Nor  does  it 
contemn  the  trivialities  of  the  law.  Nor  yet  will  it 
disparage  the  devout  observance  of  appropriate  forms 
of  worship.  But  it  is  of  too  robust  a  nature  to  be 
kept  in  a  cell  and  fed  on  herbs.  It  was  formed  for 
society.  It  came  to  live  among  men ;  to  go  where 
they  go  and  stay  where  they  stay ;  to  sit  down  with 
them  in  their  houses,  their  schools,  their  shops, 
their  warerooms,  their  mills,  their  ships,  their  courts, 
and  their  cabinets  ;  to  surround  them  with  its  pres- 
ence, to  fill  them  with  its  purity  and  love,  to  cheer 
them  with  its  consolations,  to  train  them  for  its  ever- 
lasting rewards.  This  is  the  mission  of  Christianity. 
And  those  who  gather  their  robes  around  them  as  it 
passes  by  on  its  God-like  errand,  and  cry,  "  Gluttony 
and  wine-bibbing  !"    would  do  well  to   ponder  that 


The  World,  Arrogant  and  Capricious.     247 

fearful  malediction,  "  Woe  unto  you,  scribes  and 
Pharisees,  hypocrites  !  for  ye  shut  up  the  kingdom 
of  heaven  against  men:  for  ye  neither  go  in  your- 
selves, neither  suffer  ye  them  that  are  entering  to 
go  in!"  (Matt,  xxiii,  13.) 

It  has  been  the  principal  aim  of  this  discourse  to 
exhibit  the  injustice,  the  bigotry,  and  the  capricious- 
ness  of  the  world,  in  its  relations  with  genuine  re- 
ligion. The  subject  is  replete  with  practical  lessons. 
Some  of  these  have  been  incidentally  glanced  at. 
Of  the  many  which  remain,  the  time  forbids  me  to 
present  more  than  a  very  few. 

The  first  is,  the  utter  incapacity  of  the  world  to 
sit  in  judgment  upon  spiritual  things. 

Never  could  it  have  a  more  eligible  opportunity 
for  testing  its  skill.  The  Baptist  and  his  Master 
appeared  openly  before  men.  The  world  saw  them, 
heard  them,  observed  their  manner  of  life,  and  had 
the  Scriptures  to  guide  them  in  framing  an  estimate 
of  them.  And  what  was  its  verdict  ?  Of  John  it 
said,  "  He  hath  a  devil;"  of  Jesus,  "He  is  a  glutton." 
Wondrous  penetration  !  Surpassing  wisdom  !  And 
after  all,  this  deeply  mortifying,  humbling  lesson  was 
lost  upon  it.  The  world  is  still  arrogating  the  same 
jurisdiction  over  questions  of  theology  and  worship, 
of  faith  and  practice ;  and  repeating  the  same  error. 
Nay,  the  less  it  knows  of  a  religious  topic,  the  more 


248      The  Woidd,  Arrogant  and  Capricious. 


pragmatical  it  is.  Its  dogmatism  is  inversely  as  its 
knowledge.  Christianity  will  probably  survive  the 
assaults  of  men  whose  assurance  in  dictating  to  the 
pulpit  where  it  should  stop  in  discriminating  between 
the  Church  and  the  world,  is  quite  in  keeping  with 
the  fact  that,  if  they  had  been  living  at  the  time,  they 
would  have  branded  John  as  a  fanatic  and  Christ  as 
a  voluptuary. 

2.  We  have  here  a  warning  against  prejudice  and 
passion  in  judging  of  Christian  ministers. 

The  goodness  and  wisdom  of  God  are  strikingly 
manifested  in  the  diversity  of  gifts  and  graces  with 
which  His  ambassadors  are  endowed.  It  was  thus 
with  the  ancient  Prophets.  It  was  thus  with  the 
apostles.  It  has  always  been  so  with  the  ministry. 
With  the  endless  variety  of  people  they  have  to  deal 
with,  no  other  arrangement  would  answer.  One 
must  be  argumentative,  another  imaginative.  One 
miist  be  stern,  another  gentle  :  one  vehement,  another 
temperate  :  one  pungent,  another  persuasive :  one  a 
son  of  thunder,  another  a  son  of  consolation.  Do 
you  always  remember  this  ?  Possibly  you  may. 
But  there  are  persons  who  do  not ;  persons  who  dis- 
pose very  summarily  of  ministers  and  their  reputa- 
tion, when  they  happen  not  to  preach  to  tlicir  taste. 
But  with  how  little  reason !  Would  you  have  re- 
jected the  Baptist  because  his  strain  was  so  unlike 
his  Lord's?     Would  you  have  spurned  the  massive 


The  World,  Arrogant  and  Capricious.     249 

logic  of  Paul  because  he  lacked  the  eloquent  tongue 
of  ApoUos  ?  Would  you  have  silenced  the  tender, 
affectionate  John  because  he  had  not  the  impetuosity 
of  Peter?  These  preachers  that  you  depreciate  have 
their  gifts  and  their  mission  from  the  same  source 
with  your  own  favorite  ministers.  "  All  these  work- 
eth  that  one  and  the  self-same  Spirit."  And  this  is 
reason  enough  why  they  should  have  your  benedic- 
tion, not  your  censure. 

3.  It  should  neither  surprise  nor  deject  the  disci- 
ples of  Christ  if  they  encounter  misapprehension  and 
obloquy. 

How  can  you  expect  to  escape  reproach  from  a 
world  that  traduced  your  Master  as  a  glutton  and 
wine-bibber?  The  spirit  of  the  world,  as  we  have 
seen,  is  unchanged.  If  at  any  time  it  should  malign 
your  motives  and  misrepresent  your  words  and 
actions,  remember  His  benison,  "  Blessed  are  ye, 
when  men  shall  revile  you    .    .    .    for  my  sake." 

Something  still  harder  to  bear  may  fall  to  your 
lot.  You  may  be  misunderstood,  and  defamed,  and 
cast  off  without  cause,  not  by  your  enemies,  but  by 
your  friends.  But  even  then  "  no  strange  thing  will 
have  happened  to  you."  Your  Master  drank  of  this 
cup  also.  And  as  long  as  you  keep  a  good  conscience. 
He  will  enable  you  to  drink  of  it,  and  that,  too,  with 
prayer  for  those  who  have  put  it  to  your  lips. 

4.  "Wisdom  is  justified  of  her  children." 


250     The  World,  An^ogant  and  Capricious. 


This  is  our  Saviour's  reflection  on  presenting  this 
picture  of  the  perverseness  and  impiety  of  that  gen- 
eration. The  truly  wise,  those  who  are  "  taught  of 
God,"  will  vindicate  the  ways  of  God  to  man,  both 
in  His  providence  and  in  His  grace.  And  "  let  those 
who  are  justified  by  Christ  before  God,  justify  Him 
by  their  lives  before  the  world." 


PLOUGHING  IN   HOPE. 


I.  Corinthians  ix.  lo. 


"  TJiat  he  that  plongheth  should  plough  in  hope." 

The  apostle's  argument  in  this  chapter  is  of  the 
right  of  the  ministry  to  an  adequate  support.  This 
right  he  establishes  by  the  principle  which  lies  at 
the  foundation  of  society,  that  the  laborer  is  worthy 
of  his  hire  :  from  the  recognition  of  the  principle  in 
the  Old  Testament  even  in  its  application  to  beasts 
of  burden  :  from  its  essential  equity :  from  the  com- 
mand of  Christ :  and  by  various  other  arguments. 
As  I  have  no  intention  of  taking  up  the  subject  with 
which  he  is  dealing,  it  will  be  unnecessary  to  notice 
these  topics.  The  text  is  introduced  thus:  "It  is 
written  in  the  law  of  Moses,  Thou  shalt  not  muzzle 
the  mouth  of  the  ox  that  treadeth  out  the  corn. 
Doth  God  take  care  for  oxen  ?  Or  saith  He  it  alto- 
gether \assitredl}>~\  for  our  sakes  ?  For  our  sakes, 
no  doubt,  this  is  written :  that  he  that  plougheth 
should  plough  in  hope;  and  that  he  that  thrcslieth 

251 


252  Ploughing  in  Hope. 

in  hope  should  be  partaker  of  his  hope."  That  is  to 
say,  this  command  about  oxen  was  chiefly  given  for 
our  sakes, — for  man's  sake ;  to  recognize  the  princi- 
ple that  "the  laborer  is  worthy. of  his  hire;"  that  so 
men  may  go  about  their  work  with  the  expectation 
of  being  benefited  by  it;  that  he  that  plougheth  may 
plough  in  hope,  and  he  that  thresheth  in  hope  may 
be  partaker  of  his  hope, — i.e.,  of  what  he  hoped  for. 
This  needs  no  expositor.  It  comes  home  to  every 
one's  experience.  When  you  go  into  the  country 
and  see  the  farmers  driving  their  ploughs,  you  have 
no  occasion  to  ask  them  why  they  are  turning  up 
the  soil.  You  understand  as  well  as  they  that  it  is 
the  crop  they  have  in  view.  If  it  were  not  for  the 
hope  of  the  harvest  they  would  forego  this  toil. 
And  what  is  true  of  the  farmer  is  true  of  the  mechanic, 
of  the  manufacturer,  of  the  tradesman,  of  people  of 
all  occupations  and  conditions.  Men  are  swayed  by 
an  endless  variety  of  motives,  good  and  bad  ;  but  the 
one  element  which  blends  with  all  other  springs  of 
action  is  hope, — the  desire  and  expectation  of  future 
good.  To  descant  on  its  universal  prevalence,  and 
its  potential  efficacy  in  human  affairs,  would  be  quite 
superfluous.  St.  Paul  takes  the  plougher  as  a  repre- 
sentative character.  He  would  teach  us  that  even 
in  worldly  matters  God  has  so  linked  labor  with  its 
reward,  that  every  man  who  wisely  and  diligently 
pursues  his  work  may  reasonably  hope  for  an  auspi- 


Ploughing  in  Hope.  253 

cious  result.  It  may  be  useful  to  us  to  consider  the 
same  principle  in  its  application  to  the  religious  life 
and  the  service  of  God  generally.  The  spiritual,  no 
less  than  the  natural  husbandman,  has  ample  reason 
to  go  on  with  his  work  in  hope.  That  is  to  say,  in 
doing  the  Divine  will,  whether  in  a  public  or  private 
station,  whether  on  a  broad  or  a  humble  scale, 
whether  in  the  way  of  action,  of  suffering,  or  of  silent 
waiting,  we  have  ground  to  hope  for  a  beneficial 
result.  It  may  not  be  just  the  result  at  which  we 
have  been  aiming.  It  may  even  be  something  very 
different — in  time,  and  mode,  and  measure.  Herein 
the  case  differs  from  that  of  the  ploughman,  who 
can  always  forecast  the  nature  of  his  crop  from  the 
seed.  And  yet  the  difference  is  rather  apparent  than 
real.  For  the  spiritual  husbandman  does  after  all 
reap  what  he  sows.  He  reaps  a  spiritual  harvest, 
though  it  may  not  be  precisely  the  harvest  he  had 
counted  upon. 

If  we  inquire  into  the  grounds  of  that  hope  which 
should  animate  all  true  workers  in  this  field,  it  may 
be  observed  that  they  are  doing  what  their  Heavenly 
Father  has  directed  them  to  do.  Our  Saviour  said, 
on  a  certain  occasion,  "  My  meat  is  to  do  the  will  of 
Him  that  sent  me,  and  to  finish  His  work."  We  are 
every  one  of  us  sent  into  the  world  on  a  similar 
errand, — i.e.,  to  do  the  will  of  Him  who  placed  us 
here.     Had  our  first  parents  preserved  their  integ- 


254  PlotigJmig  ill  Hope. 


rity,  the  whole  race  would  have  recdgnized  this  as 
the  only  rule  of  duty,  and  would  have  conformed  to 
it.  The  few  who  do  try  to  conform  to  it  are  fulfilling 
the  end  of  their  being.  They  are  living  not  for 
themselves,  but  for  God.  With  very  much  of  im- 
perfection, with  many  errors  and  many  falls  and  daily 
sins  which  call  for  daily  humiliation,  they  are  never- 
theless essaying  to  take  His  will  for  their  guide,  and 
His  glory  for  their  end  and  aim  ;  and  they  must  be 
hopeful  as  to  the  issue.  This  is  not  a  matter  of 
choice.  It  springs  from  a  law  of  our  nature.  An 
approving  conscience  is  always  and  necessarily  asso- 
ciated with  the  Christian  hope;  and  the  life  we  are 
considering,  is  a  life  which  conscience  does  approve. 
Nor  this  alone.  The  very  existence  of  a  sentiment 
like  hope  implies  that  it  must  come  into  play  on 
occasions  of  this  sort.  Why  are  we  made  suscepti- 
ble of  hope,  unless  it  is  to  be  called  into  exercise 
when  we  are  doing  what  God  requires  us  to  do? 
Would  the  Author  of  our  nature  thwart  His  own 
work,  by  forbidding  hope  to  seek  its  supreme  reward 
and  bliss  in  Himself?  Would  He  so  deny  Himself 
as  to  make  this  sweet,  sustaining,  transforming  affec- 
tion the  exclusive  dowry  of  the  careless  and  the 
ungodly? 

This  language  is  not  too  strong.  We  affirm  the 
right  of  the  believer,  and  of  all  who  have  their  faces 
Zionward,  to  labor  or  suffer  for  God  in  hope,  because 


Ploughing  in  Hope.  255 

He  "cannot  deny  Himself."  In  His  infinite  conde- 
scension He  has  been  pleased  to  link  His  own  glory 
with  the  toils  and  trials,  the  prayers  and  praises,  of 
His  people.  To  an  eye  capable  of  taking  in  its  vast 
proportions,  our  globe  must  present  a  busy  scene. 
The  teeming  millions  who  crowd  its  surface  are  per- 
vaded with  an  intense  and  restless  activity.  But 
amidst  all  this  mighty  play  of  human  passions; 
amidst  the  literature  and  the  science,  the  agriculture 
and  the  commerce,  the  politics  and  the  wars,  of 
mankind,  there  is  one  interest  which  in  God's  view 
overshadows  all  others,  a  single  movement  going 
forward  upon  which  He  lavishes  a  care  and  a  sym- 
pathy denied  to  everything  else.  We  may  not  assert 
that  the  overthrow  of  an  empire  or  the  founding  of  a 
dynasty  is  a  matter  of  no  moment  in  His  esteem  :  but 
we  are  warranted  in  saying  that  events  of  this  kind 
are  of  small  moment  with  Him  as  compared  with 
changes  in  the  condition  of  the  Church  ;  and,  indeed, 
that  He  orders  or  permits  those  very  events,  with  a 
continual  reference  to  His  Church.  Not  to  enlarge 
upon  this  inviting  theme,  enough  that  our  Saviour 
has  shown  His  estimate  of  the  most  trivial  services 
rendered  the  Church,  by  proclaiming  that  the  mere 
giving  of  a  cup  of  cold  water  to  a  disciple  shall  not 
fail  of  its  reward.  We  are  sure,  then,  that  He  looks 
with  approbation  upon  the  efforts  of  His  people  to 
follow  and  to  serve  Him  ;  and  that  in  doing  this,  they 


256  Ploughing  in  Hope. 


have  more  reason  to  be  hopeful  than  in  attempting 
any  other  service  whatever. 

But  you  will  regard  me  as  arguing  a  self-evident 
proposition.  Let  us  rather  consider  the  lesson  of 
the  text  in  its  bearing  upon  various  parts  of  the 
Christian  life. 

To  begin  at  the  beginning, — our  first  plougher 
shall  be  one  who  is  just  awaking  from  the  sleep  of 
sin,  and  pondering  the  question,  "  Shall  I  now  attend 
to  the  matter  of  my  personal  salvation  ?  Can  I  hope 
to  .secure  this  greatest  of  blessings?"  Many  an 
one,  brought  to  this  point,  has  been  discouraged  by 
the  apparent  obstacles  in  the  way,  and  declined  the 
effort.  Had  it  been  an  earthly  scheme,  they  would 
not  have  abandoned  it.  Men  do  not  so  lightly  forego 
the  prospect  of  wealth  and  honor.  In  those  conflicts, 
they  gather  resolution  from  difficulties;  and  failures 
only  prompt  to  fresh  exertions.  But  where  the  soul 
is  concerned,  the  quest  is  too  often  relinquished  on 
the  vague  report  that  "  there  is  a  lion  in  the  way." 
I  do  not  mean  to  intimate  that  there  are  no  actual 
impediments  between  the  unconverted  soul  and 
salvation.  There  certainly  are  very  serious  ones. 
Without  striving,  there  is  no  entering  in  at  the 
strait  gate.  But  is  this  peculiar  to  religion  ?  Do 
you  win  any  earthly  prize  without  striving  ?  Do 
the  ordinary  avocations  of  life  cost  you  no  effort  ? 
And  those  who  have  written  their  names  high   up 


Ploughing  in  Hope.  257 

among  the  great  captains,  the  great  statesmen,  the 
great  philosophers,  of  the  race,  have  they  reached 
that  eminence  without  loil  and  sacrifice  ? 

Why,  then,  complain  that  Christianity  denies  its 
treasures  to  the  torpid  and  the  indifferent?  The 
blessings  it  proposes  to  us  are  as  much  superior  to 
the  noblest  distinctions  of  the  world,  as  the  heavens 
are  higher  than  the  earth.  And  it  would  be  reason 
enough  why  all  should  strive  after  them,  if  it  were 
absolutely  certain  that  only  one  in  a  thousand  could 
succeed.  But  so  far  is  this  from  being  the  case,  that 
there  is  no  line  of  research,  no  path  of  effort,  no  form 
of  labor,  in  which  we  have  so  much  ground  to  an- 
ticipate a  favorable  result.  There  is  nothing  a  man 
may  go  about  more  hopefully  than  an  honest  and 
faithful  endeavor  to  obtain  forgiveness  and  reconcil- 
iation to  God.  How  can  you  help  seeing  this  ?  You 
need  not  send  your  thoughts  beyond  the  walls  of 
this  sanctuary  to  find  a  demonstration  of  it  which 
clothes  it  as  with  a  sort  of  mathematical  certainty. 
For  what  means  this  day  of  rest,  this  house  of  wor- 
ship, these  Christian  ordinances,  this  precious  Bible 
revealing  a  crucified  Saviour,  a  throne  of  grace,  and 
an  ever-present,  compassionate  Spirit?  And  what 
means  this  company  of  renewed  sinners,  your  friends 
and  neighbors,  once  enslaved  to  sin,  and  now,  as  they 
humbly  hope,  pardoned  and  saved  ?  Here,  surely, 
is  proof  enough  that  God  taketh  no  pleasure  in  the 


258  Ploughing  in  Hope. 


death  of  the  sinner ;  that  He  delighteth  in  mercy ; 
that  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  cleanseth  from  all  sin, 
and  that  him  that  cometh  ta  Christ  He  will  in  no 
wise  cast  out.  What  would  you  more  ?  If,  with 
these  testimonies  around  you,  you  cannot  "  plough 
in  hope,"  if  you  do  not  feel  that  there  is  enough  here 
to  encourage  you  in  an  earnest  and  persevering  effort 
to  seek  peace  and  pardon  at  the  cross,  you  will  be 
likely  to  wait  until  all  that  now  invites  you  to  hope 
gives  place  to  remediless  despair. 

But  coming  to  Christ  is  only  the  first  step :  it  is 
simply  securing  the  charter  and  the  gracious  equip- 
ment which  prepare  us  to  begin  the  work  of  life. 
The  ploughing  must  go  on.  The  field  is  large, 
and  much  of  the  soil  intractable.  But  the  allotted 
task  can  be  accomplished,  provided  only  we  keep  up 
a  good  heart  as  we  tread  the  weary  furrows,  and 
"  abound  in  hope."  You  will  know  what  is  meant 
by  this  "  intractable  soil."  Look  at  the  human  heart, 
even  the  renewed  heart,  and  see  what  a  work  is  to 
be  done  there  before  it  can  "bear  the  image  of  the 
heavenly  !"  The  very  hoHest  men  have  deplored  with 
bitter  tears  the  strength  of  their  indwelling  corrup- 
tions. The  confessions  of  David  and  of  Paul  are  re- 
newed every  day  in  ten  thousand  solitudes,  where  the 
only  ear  is  that  one  which  "  heareth  in  secret."  In 
whatever  just  esteem  a  Christian  may  be  held  by  his 
brethren   for  the  general  excellence  of  his  character 


Ploughing  in  Hope.  259 

and  life,  he  feels  that  there  is  an  immense  distance 
between  himself  and  his  Divine  Pattern,  and  that 
there  can  be  no  respite  from  his  warfare  until  this 
mortal  shall  have  put  on  immortality.  This  whole 
work  of  self-discipline  must  needs  be  arduous  and 
painful,  because  it  is  in  the  face  of  nature.  Its  aim 
is  the  subjugation  of  nature.  The  old  nature  and 
the  new  struggle  together.  Both  are  strong.  Some- 
times one  gets  the  mastery,  and  sometimes  the  other. 
But  on  the  whole,  the  old  nature  loses  ground;  and 
it  is  important  we  should  feel  that  it  must  in  the  end 
yield  to  the  powerful  agencies  which  are  enlisted  on 
our  behalf  against  it. 

We  need  this  conviction  as  a  stimulus  to  effort. 
You  have  to  deal,  e.g.,  with  some  wayward  passion, 
some  obliquity  of  temper,  some  inexorable  habit.  It 
has  led  you  captive  during  your  years  of  vanity  :  and 
now  in  entering  upon  the  service  of  a  new  Master, 
with  aspirations  after  a  new  life,  it  still  hampers  and 
vexes  you.  You  are  well  aware  that  it  is  more  than 
a  match  for  your  own  strength.  But  you  must  also 
understand  that  you  henceforth  bring  into  the  con- 
test auxiliaries  which  insure  your  ultimate  victory. 
It  was  not  forgiveness  merely  which  your  Heavenly 
Father  had  in  view  in  bringing  you  to  the  cross,  but 
deliverance  from  sin.  "  This  is  the  will  of  God,  even 
your  sanctification."  It  is  part  of  His  plan  that  "you 
should  be  holy  and  without  blame  before  Him  in 


26o  Ploughing  in  Hope. 

love."  And  what  He  purposes,  He  can  and  will  ac- 
complish. Made  one  with  Him,  united  to  Christ  as 
the  members  to  the  head,  they  have  a  covenant-right 
to  look  to  Him  for  constant  succors.  He  bids  them 
look  to  Him,  that  they  may  "  obtain  mercy  and  find 
grace  to  help  in  time  of  need."  They  are  equally  cer- 
tain of  His  aid,  whether  in  their  general  warfare  with 
sin,  or  in  resisting  some  specific  sin.  It  may  be  an 
irascible,  a  vindictive,  or  a  sullen  temper.  It  may  be 
some  carnal  or  mercenary  passion.  It  may  be  pride 
or  vanity  or  levity.  It  may  be  a  prevailing  worldli- 
ness  of  mind  and  forgetfulness  of  God.  'Tis  all  one. 
There  is  nothing  in  the  case  which  need  discourage 
them.  Let  them  "plough  in  hope."  The  annual 
harvest  is  not  more  certain  than  their  success,  pro- 
vided they  imitate  the  husbandman  in  using  the  pre- 
scribed means  of  success.  They  and  he  stand  upon 
the  same  ground,  alike  dependent  upon  the  same  be- 
neficent Power,  and  equally  sure  of  His  intervention 
if  they  invoke  it. 

This  point,  like  the  other,  is  demonstrated  before 
our  eyes,  as  it  is  also  interwoven  with  the  entire  life 
of  the  Church.  For  God  is  carrying  all  His  chil- 
dren along  this  pathway.  They  every  one  have  their 
evil  dispositions  to  contend  with,  and  by  slow  de- 
grees, with  many  lets  and  reverses,  they  gain  the 
better  of  them.  In  numerous  instances  the  tri- 
umph is  so   marked  as  to  attract  deserved  notice. 


Ploughing  in  Hope.  261 

We  have  all  seen  the  proudest  men  clothed  with 
humility;  the  profane  become  patterns  of  godliness  ; 
the  passionate  put  on  the  gentleness  of  the  lamb  ; 
even  the  parsimonious  turned  into  generous  givers. 
If  questioned  on  the  subject,  they  would  with  one 
voice  say,  "  Not  I,  but  the  grace  of  God  which 
was  with  me."  They  assailed  their  several  sins  with 
vigor,  trusting  in  the  Divine  promise  for  succor; 
and  they  were  not  disappointed.  They  "  ploughed 
in  hope,"  and  were  made  "  partakers  of  their  hope." 
And  thus  will  it  be  with  all  who  tread  in  their 
steps. 

We  may  extend  the  application  of  this  principle. 
It  deeply  concerns  parents  and  teachers  to  understand 
it,  and  all  who  have  to  do  with  the  training  of  the 
young.  How  disheartening  this  work  is,  may  be 
seen  in  the  ill  success  which  so  often  attends  it. 
With  many  children,  it  is  true,  it  is  simply  an  office 
of  pleasure,  involving  just  enough  of  care  and  solici- 
tude to  keep  one's  faculties  in  a  state  of  healthful  ac- 
tivity. But  you  are  happy  if  you  have  known  only 
examples  of  this  sort.  It  often  falls  to  the  lot  of 
parents  and  teachers  to  have  to  do  with  children  of  a 
very  ungracious  type.  Whether  from  an  hereditary 
virus,  misgovernment,  corrupt  associations,  or  other 
cause,  they  exhibit  qualities  which  sorely  tax  your 
skill  and  patience.  They  are  petulant,  perhaps  ;  they 
are  envious;  they  are  revengeful;  they  are  untruth- 


2  62  Ploughing  in  Hope. 


ful ;  they  are  irreverent  and  profane.  Or,  possibly, 
they  are  just  hstless,  lazy,  without  ambition,  without 
self-respect,  without  affection,  and  indifferent  to  all  the 
ordinary  motives  of  human  action.  What  shall  be 
done  with  these  untoward  creatures?  What  is  done, 
frequently,  is  to  leave  them  to  themselves.  Society  is 
infested  with  men  and  women  who  had  their  place  as 
children  among  some  of  these  ungainly  classes;  and 
who,  given  over  as  intractable  by  their  natural  guar- 
dians, grew  up,  as  it  were,  at  random.  The  fruit 
answers  to  the  culture.  Their  early  infirmities  have 
ripened  into  vices;. and  the  habits  which  were  barely 
endurable  in  their  youth,  are  intolerable  in  their 
manhood. 

The  Scriptures  teach  "  a  more  excellent  way" : 
"  That  he  that  plougheth,  should  plough  in  hope." 
It  will  be  conceded  that  the  field  here  indicated  is 
not'very  attractive.  One  would  not  choose  for  his 
ploughing  a  common  that  was  overrun  with  bram- 
bles, or  a  hill  imbedded  with  stones  and  matted 
roots.  But  if  that  happens  to  be  your  only  inherit- 
ance, you  have  no  alternative.  And  many  a  farmer 
has  transformed  just  such  a  plantation  into  a  scene 
of  surpassing  fertility.  These  uninteresting  children, 
so  dull  and  torpid ;  these  malicious  children ;  these 
deceitful  children ;  these  coarse,  unkempt  children  ; 
it  matters  not  what  they  are,  they  belong  to  your 
patrimony :  at  least  they  are,  for  the  time,  committed 


Ploughing  in  Hope.  263 


to  your  guardianship.  It  is  idle  to  look  abroad  and 
say,  with  a  sigh,  "  Oh,  that  this  or  that  child  had 
been  confided  to  me  instead  !"  God  has  given  you 
this  field  to  plough  ;  and  however  ungenial  the  task, 
He  has  bid  you  "  plough  in  hope."  For  consider  that 
He  who  has  made  nothing  in  vain,  could  not  have 
designed  that  these  children  should  remain  in  per- 
petual bondage  to  their  wayward  tempers  and  re- 
pulsive habits.  The  very  dullest  of  them  has  an 
intellect  susceptible  of  an  indefinite  culture  and  ex- 
pansion. The  most  perverse  may  be  tamed  into 
obedience.  The  most  insensible  is  not  absolutely 
destitute  of  generous  susceptibilities.  It  does  not 
lie  on  the  surface,  but  there  is  gold  in  every  one  of 
these  placers ;  and  there  is  a  way  in  which  it  may  be 
got  at  and  refined.  Not  a  fixed,  uniform  process, 
equally  suited  to  all  cases.  But  some  way  adapted 
to  each,  which,  if  faithfully  pursued,  will  lead  to  the 
desired  end.  To  believe  this,  heartily  and  stead- 
fastly to  cling  to  it,  is  the  great  necessity  of  the 
case.  For  effort  without  hope  is  sure  to  be  lan- 
guid and  abortive.  While  the  labor  which  is 
nourished  by  hope  is  energetic  and,  ordinarily, 
successful. 

And  is  there  anything  in  the  sort  of  problems  here 
presented  which  should  prevent  your  "  ploughing^in 
hope"  ?  The  question  may  be  answered  by  another  : 
"Is   there   any  thing  too   hard  for  the  Almighty?" 


2  64  Ploughing  in  Hope. 

For  no  one  expects  these  children  to  be  roused  into 
action,  to  be  toned  down  into  submission,  to  be 
cured  of  their  vicious  propensities,  to  be  moulded 
into  shapes  of  symmetry  and  beauty,  except  by  the 
help  of  a  superhuman  arm.  But  God  can  do  it. 
And  He  can  do  it  through  your  agency.  For  He 
can  impart  the  needful  wisdom,  the  patience,  the 
gentleness,  the  firmness,  the  affection,  the  faith: 
whatever  the  task  may  demand,  He  can  bestow  it 
all.  With  His  word  for  your  guide,  His  promises 
for  your  encouragement,  and  His  Spirit  for  your 
Strengthener  and  Comforter,  you  have  no  right  to 
abandon  your  task  as  hopeless.  It  is  not  hopeless. 
There  are  families  here,  I  doubt  not,  in  which  just 
such  children  have,  by  God's  blessing,  been  recov- 
ered from  their  waywardness,  or  their  lethargy,  and 
trained  to  honor  and  usefulness.  There  must  be 
teachers  here  both  of  Sunday-  and  day-schools  who 
have,  by  wise,  patient,  and  prayerful  effort,  reclaimed 
the  most  trying  pupils,  and  sent  them  back  a  blessing 
to  their  homes  and  to  society.  And  they  will  tell  you 
that  they  have  their  reward :  that  they  have  some- 
times rejoiced  more  over  one  of  these  reformed  and 
renovated  scholars,  than  over  ninety  and  nine  that 
have  cost  them  no  anxiety.  The  essential  thing  (as 
they  have  found  it)  is,  not  to  be  discouraged.  Never 
give  up  the  very  worst  child.  Plough  n\  hope.  And 
go  on  ploughing  in  hope.     Only  plough  as  the  Great 


Ploughing  in  Hope.  265 

Husbandman  has  bid  you,  and  sooner  or  later  you 
may  look  for  your  harvest. 

"  The  precious  grain  can  ne'er  be  lost, 
For  grace  insures  the  crop." 

And  if  it  be  thus  with  teachers  and  parents,  so  also 
with  ministers  of  the  Gospel.  No  one  can  under- 
stand, except  from  experience,  the  greatness  of  their 
work,  or  the  trials  and  discouragements  which  are 
incident  to  it.  The  writings  of  St.  Paul  abound 
with  allusions  to  this  subject,  many  of  them  personal 
to  himself,  but  others  pertaining  essentially  to  the 
pastoral  office.  Not  to  enlarge  upon  the  topic,  let  it 
suffice  to  advert  to  the  native  antipathy  of  the  human 
heart  to  that  truth  which  it  is  the  prime  function  of 
the  Christian  minister  to  dispense  ;  the  indifference 
with  which  many  receive  it  at  his  lips,  amounting  at 
times  to  undisguised  aversion ;  the  worldliness  and 
negligence  so  often  manifested  even  by  those  upon 
whom  he  has  a  right  to  rely  for  sympathy  and  aid; 
and  his  own  conscious  unfaithfulness  and  unfitness 
for  his  high  duties.  Is  it  surprising  that  pastors 
should  be  found  shrinking  from  their  work,  and  cry- 
ing with  Moses,  "  O  my  Lord,  send,  I  pray  Thee,  by 
the  hand  of  him  whom  Thou  wilt  send"? 

But  what  can  they  do?  What  ought  they  to  do? 
They  bear  a  Divine  commission.  They  preach  a 
Divine  Gospel.     The  truth  they  proclaim  is  precisely 


266  Ploughing  in  Hope. 


suited  to  its  end.  It  is  the  only  cure  for  the  world's 
maladies,  the  only  means  for  bringing  men  back  to 
God.  They  must  publish  it.  And  they  may  well 
publish  it  in  hope.  Appearances  may  be  adverse  ; 
the  soil  hard  and  arid ;  the  skies  without  rain  or 
dew ;  weeds  and  thorns  where  they  looked  for  grain. 
But  there  is  no  alternative.  And  precisely  such 
conditions  as  these  have  often  been  followed  by  a 
generous  harvest.  It  has  proved  thus  even  amidst 
the  appalling  wastes  of  paganism.  The  servants  of 
God  have  plied  their  work  among  crowds  of  igno- 
rant and  brutalized  heathen,  within  the  very  shadow 
of  idol  temples.  And  however  the  blessing  may 
have  been  delayed,  by  and  by  there  has  been  "  the 
sound  of  a  going  in  the  tops  of  the  mulberry-trees," 
and  the  Spirit  has  come  down  in  power  upon  the 
slain,  and  the  dead  have  lived  again.  If  there  be 
any  class  of  men  in  the  world  who  ought  to  "plough 
in  hope,"  it  is  the  ministers  of  the  Gospel.  And  so, 
by  parity  of  reasoning,  all  who  are  engaged  in  the 
same  work  of  leading  sinners  to  Christ  and  building 
up  His  Church.  This  field  is  full  of  laborers;  not  so 
full  that  there  is  not  room  for  more;  but  there  is  a 
great  army  of  them  essaying  in  various  ways  to  help 
forward  the  cause  of  true  human  progress.  There 
are  the  Christian  teachers  already  mentioned;  col- 
porteurs ;  tract  and  Bible  distributors ;  philanthropic 
men  and  women. who  labor  in  hospitals  and  asylums, 


Ploughing  in  Hope.  267 

in  the  lanes  and  alleys  of  the  cities,  along  the  high- 
ways and  hedges.  There  are  the  faithful  disciples 
who  are  seeking  by  private  conversation,  by  corre- 
spondence, and  other  means,  to  lead  their  friends  to 
the  Saviour.  For  all  these  workers,  whether  on  the 
broad  theatre  of  the  world  or  in  seclusion,  there  is 
ample  encouragement.  Let  them  "plough  in  hope." 
The  cause  they  have  at  heart  is  God's  cause.  His 
eye  is  upon  them.  His  ear  hearkens  to  their  inter- 
cessions. Even  though  they  may  not  in  every  in- 
stance accomplish  their  immediate  object,  He  will 
not  let  them  labor  in  vain.  In  the  end  they  will 
have  their  reward. 

Especially  will  this  be  the  case  with  those  who 
make  it  a  part  of  the  real  business  of  life  to  seek  the 
conversion  of  their  fellow-sinners.  There  are  such 
Christians.  They  are  always  on  the  alert  for  oppor- 
tunities of  this  kind.  They  always  have  some  one 
in  view  for  whom  they  are  offering  earnest  prayer, 
and  whose  attention  they  are  striving  to  draw  to  the 
"  one  thing  needful."  This  will  not  necessarily  be 
by  direct  approach.  Before  it  comes  to  this,  there 
may  be  a  long  and  needful  preparation  in  the  way  ot 
friendly  intercourse  and  mutual  esteem.  With  a  wise 
discretion,  they  will  turn  to  account  their  common 
studies  and  occupations,  their  disappointments,  their 
recreations,  the  incidents  of  every-day  life,  copying 
herein  the  example  of  the  blessed  Master,  who 


268  Ploughing  in  Hope. 

"  Would  do  all  things,  would  try  all  ways; 
By  words,  and  signs,  and  actions,  thus 
Still  seeking  not  Himself,  hut  us." 

And  they  who  do  this,  who  make  the  conversion 
of  sinners  one  of  the  cherished  ends  of  life,  not  only- 
have  full  warrant  to  "plough  in  hope,"  but  uniformly 
avail  themselves  of  it.  Hopefulness  is  of  their  very 
nature.  They  need  no  assurance  from  the  pulpit  or 
elsewhere  that  the  work  they  are  doing  is  approved 
of  God,  for  they  have  the  witness  in  themselves. 
And  knowing  this,  they  count  with  a  modest  confi- 
dence upon  its  successful  issue. 

There  is  another  field  for  the  application  of  this 
maxim,  covering  too  many  broad  acres  to  be  trav- 
ersed now  ;  but  we  may  just  glance  at  it.  I  refer  to 
the  multitudes  oi  sufferers, — those  who  are  struggling 
with  inward  conflicts,  with  poverty,  with  misfortune, 
with  trials  which  may  imperil  their  daily  bread,  or 
which  may  seem  to  hedge  up  their  path  so  that  they 
are  at  a  loss  whither  to  turn.  Such  an  one  may 
sometimes  be  heard  bemoaning  his  condition  in 
tones  like  these  :  "  He  hath  led  me,  and  brought  me 
into  darkness,  but  not  into  light.  Surely  against  me 
is  He  turned ;  He  turneth  His  hand  against  me  all 
the  day.  He  hath  hedged  me  about,  that  I  cannot 
get  out :  He  hath  made  my  chain  heavy."  (Lam. 
iii.  2.)  There  is  a  lesson  in  our  text  even  for  these 
sufferers.     It  is  not  in  mockery  of  their  troubles,  but 


Ploughing  in  Hope.  269 

with  a  full  appreciation  of  them,  we  say,  in  the  face 
of  these  trials,  you  must  "plough  in  hope."  De- 
spair will  ruin  you.  Despondency  will  paralyze 
you.  Hope  will  bring  peace  and  strength.  These 
troubles  have  not  come  by  chance.  They  are  from 
the  hand  of  an  infinitely  wise  and  merciful  God. 
Painful  as  they  are,  they  cannot  be  more  so  than 
the  calamities  with  which  He  has  been  pleased  to 
prove  the  faith  and  constancy  of  eminent  believers, 
from  the  time  of  the  patriarchs  until  now.  They 
trusted  in  Him  and  He  delivered  them.  He  will 
deliver  you.  This  night  must  have  its  morning. 
This  wall  of  hewn  stone  across  your  path  has  its 
wicket-gate.  When  His  ends  are  answered  all  will  be 
well.  "  It  is  good  that  a  man  should  both  Jiopc  and 
quietly  w<:^//  for  the  salvation  of  the  Lord."  (Lam.  iii. 
26.)  Satan  will  if  possible  prevent  this.  He  knows 
his  hour,  and  sets  upon  the  Christian  as  he  did 
upon  his  Master,  in  his  season  of  conflict  and  danger. 
Let  the  tempted  disciple  say  to  him,  "  Get  thee  be- 
hind me!"  Let  him  "trust  in  the  name  of  the  Lord, 
and  stay  upon  his  God."  (Isa.  1.  10.)  Let  him  re- 
member the  Man  of  Sorrows.  Let  him  think  of 
Gethsemane  and  Calvary,  and  grace  will  be  given 

him  to  cry, 

"  My  Saviour,  as  Thou  wilt ! 

All  shall  be  well  for  me  : 
Each  changing  future  scene 
I  gladly  trust  with  Thee  : 
23* 


2  70  Ploughing  in  Hope. 

Straight  to  my  home  above 

I  calmly  travel  on, 
And  sing,  in  life  or  death, 

My  Lord,  Thy  will  be  done !" 

Still  another  wide  sphere  invites  our  notice  in  con- 
nection with  the  text,  merely  glanced  at  in  the  open- 
ing of  this  sermon, — viz.,  the  importance  of  this 
principle  to  the  young  in  prosecuting  even  their  sec- 
ular plans.  It  is,  under  God,  one  of  the  great  secrets 
of  success,  this  "ploughing  in  hope."  No  one 
quality  has  been  more  uniformly  characteristic  of 
the  world's  heroes,  both  its  benefactors  and  its 
scourges,  than  hopefulness.  You  will  be  able  to 
name  scarcely  a  single  exception  in  the  long  list  of 
its  eminent  philosophers,  orators,  inventors,  navi- 
gators, philanthropists,  and  captains.  If  you  come 
nearer  home,  you  will  find  that  the  most  successful 
toilers  in  the  common  husbandry  of  society, — its 
mechanics,  its  merchants,  its  scholars,  its  profes- 
sional men, — are  men  who  have  "  ploughed  in  hope." 
Let  their  example  instruct  you.  The  main  thing  is 
to  assure  yourselves  that  you  are  in  the  right  path  ; 
that  your  ends  and  aims  have  been  sought  in  the 
fear  of  God,  and  your  powers  dedicated  to  Him. 
With  this  condition  precedent,  you  may  and  should 
be  hopeful.  You  will  encounter  difficulties.  There 
is  no  path  through  this  world  which  is  without  rocks 
and  thorns ;  and  they  may  be  very  thick  along  the 


Ploughing  in  Hope.  271 

road  you  are  to  travel.  But  never  despond.  Look 
to  God  for  succor,  and  "  plough  in  hope."  Regard 
obstacles  as  a  thing  of  course.  Bend  all  your  faculties 
and  summon  all  the  auxiliaries  you  can  command 
to  the  contest.  Take  heart  from  the  triumphs  of 
others,  from  the  promises  of  Scripture,  and  from  the 
rewards  of  eternity.  And  thus,  honestly  endeavor- 
ing to  make  the  most  of  life,  "hope  on,  hope  ever," 
and  you  will  live  to  some  purpose. 

I  feel  that  I  have  done  injustice  to  this  text  by 
restricting  it  so  much  to  the  present  life,  to  immedi- 
ate, or  at  least  palpable,  success,  whether  in  temporal 
or  spiritual  things.  But  you  will  all  contemplate  it 
in  its  higher  and  nobler  aspect.  It  is  the  blood- 
bought  privilege  of  the  Christian  always  and  every- 
where to  "  plough  in  hope,"  because  he  may  be  cer- 
tain of  his  harvest  hereafter,  even  if  it  fail  here. 
Nothing  he  does  for  Christ  can  miss  its  fruitage 
there.  The  cup  of  cold  water  to  a  disciple,  the 
kindly  visit  of  condolence  to  the  house  of  mourning, 
the  writing  of  a  faithful  letter  to  a  thoughtless  friend, 
the  toil  and  prayer  you  bestow  upon  the  young,  the 
patience  and  filial  trust  you  display  in  struggling 
with  the  ills  of  life, — will  all  receive  a  glorious  recog- 
nition and  recompense  at  the  last  day.  These  tran- 
sient labors,  these  momentary  sufferings, — such  are 
"  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ," — lead  on  to  a 
sure  eternity  of  bliss.    Well  may  you  plough  in  hope. 


272  Ploughing  hi  Hope. 

A  word  more  and  I  have  done.  There  is  one 
hope,  and  only  one,  that  never  misleads  and  never 
disappoints.  Its  foundation  is  laid  in  the  blood  and 
righteousness  of  Christ.  Its  object  is  the  friendship 
of  God  and  the  glories  of  the  heavenly  state.  Its 
muniments  are  the  word  and  oath  of  Jehovah.  Its 
supports  are  the  promises  of  the  Gospel  and  the 
ministry  of  the  Divine  Spirit.  This  immortal  hope 
blooms  only  by  the  cross.  Have  yoii  been  tJierc? 
Have  you  found  it?  Have  you  made  it  your  own? 
If  not,  give  no  sleep  to  your  eyes  nor  slumber  to 
your  eyelids  until  you  secure  it.  If  you  have,  bless 
God  for  the  priceless  endowment,  and  consecrate  to 
Him  the  happiness  it  confers. 

And  now,  Christian  brethren,  "  may  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  Himself,  and  God,  even  our  Father, 
who  hath  loved  us  and  given  us  everlasting'  consola- 
tion and  good  hope  through  grace,  comfort  your 
hearts  and  stablish  you  in  every  good  word  and 
work !" 


THE  BALM   OF   GILEAD. 


Jeremiah  viii.  22. 


"  Is  there  no  balm  in   Gilead ;  is  there  no  Physician 
there  ?" 

Gilead  was  the  name  of  a  large  district  on  the 
east  side  of  the  Jordan.  It  was  a  pastoral  region, 
distinguished,  among  other  products,  for  certain  aro- 
matic simples,  from  which  various  sorts  of  balsam 
were  prepared.  The  efficacy  of  these  agents  in  re- 
moving disease  was  so  great  as  to  confer  a  kind  of 
medical  reputation  upon  the  province.  Of  this  we 
have  an  example  in  the  46th  chapter  of  Jeremiah's 
prophecies  :  "  Go  up  into  Gilead,  and  take  balm,  O 
virgin,  the  daughter  of  Egypt :  in  vain  shalt  thou 
use  many  medicines ;  for  thou  shalt  not  be  cured," 
Our  text  supplies  another  illustration.  The  Prophet 
has  been  depicting  in  most  sombre  colors  the  wretch- 
edness and  ruin  which  Israel  had  brought  upon  them- 
selves. Employing  a  familiar  image,  he  compares 
the  nation  to  a  body  covered  with  ghastly  wounds, 

273 


2  74  The  Balvi  of  Gilead. 

and,  apparently,  ready  to  die.  The  spectacle  fills 
him  with  horror.  "  For  the  hurt  of  the  daughter 
of  my  people  am  I  hurt ;  I  am  black  ;  astonishment 
hath  taken  hold  on  me."  And  then  he  exclaims, 
"Is  there  no  balm  in  Gilead;  is  there  no  Physician 
there  ?  Why  then  is  not  the  health  of  the  daughter 
of  my  people  recovered  ?" 

The  allusion  evidently  is  to  the  power  and  clem- 
ency of  Jehovah.  "  Is  there  not  healing  and  deliv- 
erance with  God  ?  Can  He  not — if  you  return  to 
Him,  will  He  not — stay  these  judgments  and  restore 
you  to  peace  and  prosperity?  Why,  then,  are  you 
not  relieved  ?  Why  are  the  chosen  people  thus  given 
over  to  reckless  impiety  and  cruel  suffering?" 

Such  appears  to  be  the  purport  of  the  passage,  and 
the  explanation  vindicates  the  common  adaptation  of 
it  to  the  spiritual  blessings  of  the  Gospel  and  the 
Great  Physician  who  applies  them.  Shall  we  spend 
a  little  while  in  considering  the  text  in  this  aspect? 

"  Is  there  no  balm  in  Gilead ;  is  there  no  Phy- 
sician there  ?" 

How  much  necessity  there  is  for  some  provision 
of  this  kind,  there  needs  but  a  glance  at  the  condition 
of  the  world  to  show.  A  sin-stricken  world  must 
be  the  abode  of  suffering  and  sorrow.  "  Man  is  born 
unto  trouble,  as  the  sparks  fly  upward."  Every- 
where the  race  is  toiling  and  groaning  under  the 
pressure  of  the  primeval  curse.      Even  within  the 


The  Balm  of  Gilead.  275 

broad  region  which  feels  the  ameliorating  influence 
of  Christianity,  sin  and  woe  assert  their  baleful  pre- 
rogative. Every  family  has,  in  its  turn,  to  drink  of 
the  bitter  cup ;  nor  can  any  individual  hope,  except 
for  a  season,  to  elude  the  common  allotment. 

The  need,  therefore,  of  some  antidote  to  this  uni- 
versal infliction  is  equally  universal.  Appalling  as 
our  condition  may  now  be,  the  spectacle  of  a  world 
abandoned  to  the  reign  of  sin,  without  any  corrective 
or  mitigation,  would  be  far  more  awful.  It  is  an  in- 
stance of  the  Divine  mercy  for  which  we  can  never 
be  sufficiently  grateful,  that  "  where  sin  abounded 
grace  doth  much  more  abound  ;"  and  that  we  may 
go  through  the  world  and  address  every  suffering 
child  of  humanity,  whatever  the  nature  of  his  trials, 
with  the  consolatory  words,  "  Is  there  no  balm  in 
Gilead;  is  there  no  Physician  there?" 

The  interrogative  form  of  this  statement  seems  to 
contemplate,  not  so  much  cases  of  want  or  woe  in- 
discriminately as  examples  of  peculiar  and  signal 
distress.  Such  examples  every  community  might 
supply.  There  are  families  here  and  there  whose 
afflictions  have  given  them  a  sad  pre-eminence  among 
their  neighbors.  Stroke  after  stroke  has  fallen  upon 
them,  until  their  cup  of  bitterness  seems  filled  to  the 
very  brim.  They  are  like  the  group  of  lofty  pines, 
sometimes  to  be  seen  on  the  crest  of  a  hill,  upon 
which    every  passing   thunder-cloud   discharges    its 


276  The  Babn  of  Gilead. 

bolts,  until  at  length,  shattered  and  blackened  by 
this  merciless  warfare,  they  fall  and  are  consumed. 
Every  one  feels  how  futile  it  must  be  to  send  these 
smitten  households  to  the  world  for  consolation. 
They  themselves  not  only  realize  the  insufficiency 
of  any  earthly  solace,  but  they  may,  not  improbably, 
surrender  themselves  to  despondency,  with  the  feel- 
ing that  their  trials  are  too  overwhelming  to  admit 
of  any  alleviation. 

A  blessed  thing  it  is  to  be  allowed  to  go  to  a 
family  in  these  circumstances,  and  say,  "We  will  not 
mock  you  with  the  tender  of  such  consolations  as 
the  world  may  have  to  bestow.  We  will  not  proffer 
you  mere  human  sympathy.  But  rest  assured  there 
is  balm  in  Gilead  which  can  soothe  your  wounds, 
and  a  Physician  there  who  knows  how  to  apply  it." 
This  is  true  even  of  those  trials  which,  as  they  are 
marked  by  no  visible  ensigns,  attract  no  notice  and 
awaken  no  sympathy.  It  was  long  ago  said,  "  the 
heart  knoweth  his  own  bitterness."  And  the  older 
we  grow,  the  deeper  must  become  the  conviction  of 
every  thoughtful  person,  that  the  hearts  are  not  few 
in  number  which  have  some  secret  sorrow. 

Very  many  of  these  examples  belong  to  the  realm 
of  the  affections.  Misplaced  love,  morbid  sensibility, 
disappointed  hopes,  abused  or  unrequited  confi- 
dence,— who  can  compute  the  measure  of  unhappi- 
ness  in  the  world  which  flows  from  these  sources  ? 


The  Balm  of  Gilead.  277 

The  most  sacred  and  responsible  of  earthly  ties  not 
unfrequently  binds  together  the  most  uncongenial 
tempers.  The  precipitancy  with  which  it  is  formed 
produces  its  natural  result.  When  the  parties  come 
to  be  really  acquainted  with  each  other,  they  awake 
to  the  fatal  discovery  that  they  have  made  a  viistake. 
And  this,  unless  neutralized  by  an  earnest  piety,  may 
embitter  the  remnant  of  their  days.  Without  en- 
larging on  a  theme  which  it  were  profitable  to  dis- 
cuss only  as  a  warning  to  those  who  may  be  in 
peril  of  the  same  false  step  (a  case  where,  it  is 
to  be  feared,  neither  warnings  nor  remonstrances 
would  be  of  much  avail),  it  cannot  be  doubted  that 
there  is,  in  every  community,  a  large  amount  of 
conjugal  unhappiness.  Disguised,  it  may  be,  from 
curious  eyes,  and  veiled  beneath  a  serene  or  even  a 
cheerful  exterior,  but  the  sorrow  is  none  the  less 
real. 

Nor  is  that  less  real  which  springs  from  disap- 
pointed attachments  or  blighted  hopes.  The  world 
may  sneer  at  the  "  sentiraentalism"  of  such  experi- 
ences. The  essential  spirit  of  the  world  is  as  coarse 
and  cynical  where  human  affections  are  concerned, 
as  it  is  arrogant  and  impious  in  dealing  with  the  pre- 
rogatives of  the  Deity.  It  may  very  well  be  that, 
in  many  of  the  instances  we  refer  to,  there  is  an  ill- 
balanced  constitution,  or  that  a  passion  has  been 
cherished    in    opposition   to   all   reason,   or    that,   in 

24 


278  The  Balm  of  Gilead. 


some  way,  the  calamity  has  been  self-imposed.  But 
the  consciousness  of  this  only  increases  the  bitter- 
ness of  the  cup  ;  as  it  may  also  prompt  to  a  more 
careful  seclusion  of  it  from  every  eye.  In  particular 
instances,  a  sensitive,  shrinking  nature,  which  will 
scarcely  expose  its  finer  emotions  to  the  gaze  of  a 
bosom  friend,  may  be  the  victim  of  harsh  treatment 
or  of  blasted  hopes.  Such  a  nature  will  turn  in- 
wardly upon  itself,  and  nurse  the  sorrow  which  is 
consuming  it.  As  it  looks  abroad  over  society, 
there  is  nothing  to  arouse  its  ambition  or  enkindle 
its  enthusiasm.  Occupation  it  may  find  in  the  cus- 
tomary routine  of  things;  but  life  is  rather  endured 
than  enjoyed.  There  is  a  worm  at  the  core  ;  and  its 
work,  though  gradual,  is  as  sure'  as  it  is  insidious, 
unless  a  merciful  Providence  arrest  it. 

It  may  be  arrested.  In  all  these  cases,  and  others 
affiliated  with  them,  there  is  one  source  of  relief,  the 
efficacy  of  which  is  not  to  be  disputed.  Remote  it 
may  be  from  the  established  habits  and  associations 
of  those  who  require  it;  alien  from  the  sphere  in 
which  their  minds  are  accustomed  to  revolve.  Yet 
is  it  not  the  less  adapted  to  their  condition,  nor,  once 
embraced,  would  it  be  the  less  grateful  to  them.  It 
were  a  mission  of  Godlike  philanthropy  could  one  seek 
out  all  these  afflicted  ones,  bowed  down  with  their 
crushed  hearts,  and  languishing  under  the  weight  of 
griefs  too  sacred  to  be  shared  by  any  earthly  bosom. 


The  Balm  of  Gilead.  1 79 

and  say  to  them,  Is  there  no  balm  in  Gilead ;  is  there 
no  Physician  there  ? 

Do  not  repel  the  suggestion  as  either  unsuited  to 
your  state  of  mind  or  as  unseasonable.  What  you 
need  is  a  Friend  whose  sympathy  can  avail  to  re- 
lieve you,  and  whose  arm  can  keep  you  from  sink- 
ing; a  Friend  upon  whom  you  can  fix  your  lacer- 
ated affections  with  a  confidence  that  He  will  never 
betray  you  ;  and  whom  you  can  love  with  the  con- 
viction that  your  attachment  to  Him  can  never  be- 
come so  absorbing  as  to  be  an  occasion  of  self- 
reproach  or  of  sin.  Earthly  friendships  you  have 
tried  and  found  them  wanting.  The  void  in  your 
hearts  is  greater  than  ever.  And  whatever  may  be 
your  experience  in  other  respects,  you  are  satisfied 
that  the  world  is  but  a  broken  reed  to  rest  upon. 
Jesus  of  Nazareth  will  not  disappoint  you.  Such 
is  the  essential  perfection  of  His  nature, — such  its 
boundless  amplitude, — that  in  Him  all  your  griefs 
may  be  assuaged  and  all  your  cravings  after  happi- 
ness satisfied.  Combining  in  a  mysterious  union 
the  Divine  and  the  human  natures,  He  offers  Him- 
self to  your  confidence  as  at  once  "  the  Mighty  God" 
and  "  the  Man  of  sorrows."  The  one  character  pre- 
pares Him  to  enter  into  your  troubles  with  all  the 
tenderness  of  a  fellow-sufferer;  while  the  other  makes 
Him  able  to  remove  them,  or  to  sustain  you  under 
them.     His  claim  upon  your  supreme  love  and  ven- 


28o  The  Balvi'  of  Gilead. 

eration  has  the  sanctity  which  pertains  to  the  rela- 
tion between  the  Creator  and  the  creature,  the  Re- 
deemer and  the  lost  sinner.  Peradventure,  had  you 
recognized  this  claim  and  given  Him  that  place  in 
your  affections  to  which  He  was  entitled,  it  might 
have  averted  the  trials  that  now  oppress  you.  You 
refused  Him  the  love  which  was  His  due,  and  He  left 
you  to  bestow  it  either  upon  an  unworthy  object,  or 
upon  an  object  which  turned  to  ashes  in  your  arms. 
Painful  as  the  lesson  has  been,  you  may  yet  see  that 
it  was  appointed  in  mercy  to  your  soul.  It  required 
a  severe  discipline  to  teach  you  that  this  was  not 
your  rest;  and  that  in  endowing  you  with  those 
warm  and  generous  affections,  God  did  not  intend 
that  you  should  use  them  as  implements  of  idolatry. 
Nor  would  He  now  pursue  you  with  a  vindictive 
displeasure.  If  presumption  defeats  the  true  ends 
of  life,  so  does  despondency.  Your  Heavenly  Father 
forbids  you  to  despond.  Knowing  perfectly  the 
whole  measurement  of  your  distress,  with  its  origin, 
its  relations,  its  aggravations,  He  says  to  you,  in  tones 
of  parental  authority  and  gentleness  which  ought  to 
penetrate  to  the  depths  of  your  being.  Is  there  no 
balm  ill  Gilead ;  is  tJiere  no  PJiysician  there  ? 

Go,  then,  to  Gilead.  Seek  the  aid  of  its  Great 
Physician.  He  will  do  for  you  what  He  did  for 
the  palsied,  and  the  leprous,  and  the  demoniac, 
who  flocked  around  Him  in   Palestine, — heal  your 


The  Balm  of  Gilead.  28 1 

wounds,  and  pour  in  the  oil  of  consolation,  and 
make  you  feel  that  you  have  something  to  live  for, 
and  send  you  on  your  way  rejoicing. 

The  moment  we  pass  from  the  sphere  of  the  affec- 
tions into  tJie  realm  of  spiritual  things,  new  forms  of 
suffering  meet  ihe  eye,  as  diversified  in  character  as 
they  are  various  in  intensity.  And  here,  no  less  than 
among  the  tribes  of  sickness,  and  sorrow,  and  disap- 
pointment, we  have  but  too  much  occasion  to  ask, 
"  Is  there  no  balm  in  Gilead,  and  no  Physician 
there  ?" 

With  one  of  these  sorrows  you  must  be  familiar. 
You  have  seen  individuals  under  the  terrors  of  an 
awakened  conscience.  God  has  come  near  to  them 
and  set  their  sins  in  order  before  their  eyes.  In  His 
holy  law  they,  for  the  first  time,  see  their  characters 
reflected  in  their  true  colors  ;  and  the  discovery  over- 
whelms them.  The  celebrated  Professor  Halyburton, 
of  Scotland,  has  left  a  very  affecting  picture  of  his 
experience  in  these  circumstances  : 

"  My  sins  were  set  in  order  in  the  dreadfulness  of 
their  nature  and  aggravations ;  and  all  shifts,  exten- 
uations, pleas,  and  defences  were  rejected,  and  my 
mouth  was  *  stopped  befcJre  God.'  All  the  vain  ways 
I  had  taken  for  my  relief  baffled  my  expectation 
and  increased  my  pain :  they  were  '  the  staff  of  a 
broken  reed  ;'  they  pierced  my  arm  when  I  essayed 
to  lean  on  them,  and  I  was  ashamed,  and  even  con- 

24* 


282  The  Balm  of  Gilead. 


founded  that  I  had  hoped.  The  wrath  of  God  was 
dropped  into  my  soul,  and  '  the  poison  of  His  arrows 
drank  up  my  spirits.'  All  the  ways  I  took  to  bear 
down  my  corruptions  proved  of  no  avail,  for  '  sin 
revived,  and  I  died;'  yea,  'taking  occasion  by  the 
commandment,  it  slew  me.'  I  was  weary  of  my  life. 
Often  did  I  use  Job's  words,  '  I  loathe  it,  and  would 
not  live  alway.'  And  yet  I  was  afraid  to  die.  I  had 
no  rest ;  '  my  sore  ran  in  the  night,'  and  it  ceased 
not  in  the  day.  At  night  I  wished  for  day,  and  in 
the  day  I  wished  for  night.  I  said,  '  My  couch  shall 
comfort  me  ;'  but  there  darkness  was  as  the  '  shadow 
of  death.'  I  was  made  to  think  it  a  wonder  that  I 
was  not  consumed ;  and  though  I  dreaded  destruc- 
tion from  the  Almighty,  yet  I  could  not  but  justify 
Him  if  He  had  destroyed  me.  .  ,  .  Thus  I  walked 
about,  dejected,  weary,  and  heavy-laden, — weary  of 
my  disease,  and  weary  of  the  vain  courses  I  had 
taken  for  relief,  and  uncertain  what  to  do,  what 
course  to  take  :  '  I  took  counsel  in  my  soul,  having 
sorrow  in  my  heart  daily.**' 

It  is  more  than  possible  that  these  fearful  sorrows 
may  have  been  renewed  In  the  experience  of  some 
who  are  now  present.  And  how  hopeless  is  it  to 
attempt  to  minister  relief  to  a  soul  in  this  condition 
with  any  mere  earthly  specifics!  They  may  come 
to  you  and  tell  you  that  you  are  not  the  flagrant 
sinner  you  suppose  yourself  to  be  ;  that  your  life  has 


The  Balm  of  Gilead.  283 

been  honorable  and  useful ;  that  you  have  never 
rejected  the  Bible,  nor  turned  your  back  upon  the 
Sanctuary ;  that  you  have  committed  no  more  sin 
than  is  chargeable  upon  all  persons  indifferently; 
and  that,  in  the  worst  event,  God  is  a  merciful  Being, 
and  He  will  surely  forgive  and  save  you.  All  this, 
and  much  more  to  the  same  effect,  may  be  poured 
into  your  ear,  and  with  the  kindest  motives  ;  but  you 
feel  its  penury.  It  does  not  reach  your  case.  It 
does  not  silence  the  clamors  of  conscience.  It  does 
not  stay  the  descending  sword  of  justice.  It  does 
not  arrest  the  avenger  of  blood,  whose  feet  you  hear 
behind  you,  approaching  nearer  and  nearer  every 
moment. 

Something  widely  different  from  this  you  must 
have  before  that  agitated  breast  can  be  tranquillized. 
And  the  boundless  mercy  of  God  proffers  you  all 
that  you  need.  "  Is  there  no  balm  in  Gilead ;  is 
there  no  Physician  there?"  Yes,  thou  heavy-laden 
sinner.  Great  as  thy  sins  are,  there  is  a  greater 
Saviour.  Ponderous  as  is  thy  burden,  what  will  it 
be  to  Him  whose  hand  holds  up  the  firmament  and 
guides  the  spheres  in  their  orbits  ?  Deep  as  may  be 
the  crimson-dye  of  thy  soul,  the  blood  which  cleansed 
Manasseh,  and  the  dying  thief,  and  Saul  of  Tarsus, 
can  cleanse  thee.  "  It  is  a  faithful  saying,  and  worthy 
of  all  acceptation,  that  Christ  Jesus  came  into  the 
world  to  save  sinners,  even  the  chief,"     The  infant 


284  The  Balm  of  Gilead. 

of  a  day,  and  the  transgressor  of  an  hundred  years 
old,  alike  need  to  be  washed  in  His  atoning  blood ; 
and  it  is  equally  efficacious  for  the  one  as  for  the 
other.  He  is  not  a  Physician  who  confines  Himself 
to  recent  and  superficial  disorders.  He  cured  the 
most  chronic  and  virulent  bodily  maladies  with  equal 
ease  as  the  most  trivial.  And  He  does  no  less  as 
the  Physician  of  the  soul.  That  wondrous  balm  of 
Gilead, — He  has  tried  it  with  every  type  of  malig- 
nant disease  to  which  poor  humanity  is  subject,  and 
it  has  never  failed  in  a  single  instance.  Why  should 
it  fail  in  yours?  Only  put  your  case  in  His  hands. 
Go  to  Him  as  you  are.  The  wot^se  your  condition 
the  greater  your  need  of  such  a  Physician.  And  it 
will  be  time  enough  for  you  to  plead  the  hopeless- 
ness of  your  case,  as  a  reason  for  not  repairing  to 
Him,  when,  from  all  the  millions  of  the  race  since 
the  apostasy,  you  can  produce  a  solitary  example  of 
a  sinner  who  went  to  Him  to  be  cured  and  was 
refused  the  blessing  he  sought. 

A  second  glance  around  the  realm  we  are  now 
traversing  reveals  another  class  of  sufferers.  These 
are  the  doubting,  the  tempted,  the  desponding, — the 
bruised  reeds  and  the  smoking  flax, — who  "  desire  to 
follow  Christ,"  and  would  "give  worlds"  to  know  that 
He  owned  them  as  His  disciples,  but  who  walk  in 
darkness.  Long  accustomed  to  dwell  on  their  con- 
scious  sins  and  infirmities,  their  .sense  of  personal 


The  Balm  of  Gilead.  285 

unvvorthiness  forbids  them  to  appropriate  the  prom- 
ises, and  even  restrains  them  from  looking,  with  any 
confidence,  to  the  Saviour.  Circumspect  in  conduct, 
watchful  against  sin,  humble,  patient,  and  forgiving 
in  temper,  diligent  in  the  study  of  God's  word,  earn- 
est in  prayer,  constant  in  their  attendance  upon  the 
Sanctuary,  they,  nevertheless,  fear  to  eat  the  chil- 
dren's bread ;  and  if  they  ever  venture  to  approach 
the  Lord's  Table,  it  is  with  the  apprehension  that  the 
Master  may  come  in  and  say,  "  What  dost  thoti  here 
without  a  wedding-garment?"  To  suggest  to  them 
that  persons  so  exemplary  in  character  and  life  need 
not  scruple  to  regard  themselves  as  Christians,  will 
no  more  satisfy  them  than  would  the  kindred  counsel 
already  quoted  relieve  the  anxieties  of  the  awakened 
sinner.  They  know  more  of  their  own  hearts  than 
any  other  being  except  God  can  know,  and  they  feel 
that  their  sins  are  great  enough  to  exclude  them  from 
the  high  privileges  of  the  redeemed.  "  How  can  they 
encourage  themselves  to  hope  in  the  Divine  mercy 
when  they  know  that  they  are  so  '  full  of  sin'  and 
that  their  sins  are  of  a  peculiar  turpitude?" 

This  is  their  feeling  ;  and  a  very  becoming  feeling 
it  would  be  if  the  system  of  redemption  were  what 
they  assumed  it  to  be.  But  the  whole  current  of 
their  reflections  on  this  subject  is  as  injurious  to  the 
Saviour  as  it  is  destructive  to  their  own  peace  of 
mind.     Recalling  His  compassion  to  the  timid  and 


286  The  Bahn  of  Gilead. 

doubting  during  His  earthly  ministry,  one  cannot 
repress  the  conviction  that  if  He  were  here  again,  He 
would  be  likely  to  go  to  these  desponding  believers, 
one  after  another,  and  say  to  them,  "  Is  there  no  balm 
in  Gilead;  is  there  no  Physician  there?"  And  what 
could  you  answer  Him?  I  know  what  would  be  in 
your  hearts,  although  your  lips  might  not  utter  it  to 
Him.  "  Yes,  Lord  ;  there  is  balm  in  Gilead,  and  a 
Physician  there;  but  they  are  not  for  us."  "And 
why,"  He  might  rejoin,  "  are  they  not  for  you  ?" 
"  Because  we  are  too  vile.  We  have  treated  Thee 
too  basely.  Thou  hast  loaded  us  with  blessings  and 
surrounded  us  with  motives  and  helps  to  a  religious 
life,  and  sent  Thy  Spirit  often  to  stir  up  our  con- 
sciences and  bring  us  back  to  God  ;  and  we  have 
repaid  Thee  only  with  unbelief  and  ingratitude,  and 
devotion  to  the  world."  "And  is  the  balm  in  Gilead," 
He  might  respond,  "  adapted  only  to  those  who  have 
but  contracted  the  first  infection  of  sin  ?  Is  the 
'  Physician  there'  able  to  cope  only  with  maladies 
which  lie  upon  the  surface?  Is  the  blood  of  Christ 
powerless  to  wash  away  your  sins  ?  Has  He  can- 
celled His  own  gracious  proclamation,  '  Him  that 
Cometh  unto  me,  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out'  ?  Or, 
has  He  become  less  condescending  and  pitiful  than 
He  was  of  old  ?" 

These  doubts  and  misgivings  have  their  rooting 
in  unbelief,  and  in  unworthy  conceptions  of  the  char- 


The  Balm  of  Gilead.  287 

acter  of  the  Redeemer.  Conscious  ill-desert  keeps 
you  from  going  to  Christ.  But  is  there  anything 
either  in  His  character  or  in  the  events  of  His  life  to 
justify  this  feeling?  Do  you  find  any  apology  for  it 
in  the  more  than  parental  gentleness  with  which  He 
bore  with  the  errors  and  faults  of  His  apostles  ?  Have 
you  imbibed  it  from  the  record  of  His  dealings  with 
the  ten  lepers;  with  the  father  of  the  demoniac  child  ; 
with  Lazarus  and  his  sisters ;  with  the  poor  woman 
who  stole  a  blessing  from  the  hem  of  His  garment; 
with  Peter,  after  his  denial  of  Him;  with  Thomas, 
after  his  incredulity?  What  incident  of  His  life, 
what  utterance  of  His  lips,  can  you  lay  your  finger 
upon  as  affording  the  slightest  countenance  to  the 
sentiment  of  distrust  which  makes  you  stand  ques- 
tioning whether  Christ  will  not  reject  you  if  you  go 
to  Him?  Let  the  "bruised  reeds"  be  ashamed  of 
this  unbelief  The  character  of  the  Saviour,  as  you 
contemplate  it,  is  inexpressibly  lovely  and  glorious. 
How,  then,  can  you  cherish  a  feeling  so  derogatory 
to  Him  ?  How  can  you  say,  as  you  do  practically 
say,  "  There  is  no  balm  in  Gilead,  and  no  Physician 
there"? 

We  are  going  through  a  hospital  which  has  many 
wards.  Let  us  stop  at  one  more  only.  If  the  anti- 
dote we  bear  shall  serve  for  that  also,  we  may  be 
sure  it  will  answer  for  the  rest. 

It  is  a  dark  portraiture  which  the  Spirit  has  drawn 


288  The  Balm  of  Gilead. 

of  man's  moral  character,  when,  with  a  single  graphic 
touch  of  the  pencil,  he  is  depicted  as  having  "a  heart 
of  stone."  The  skeptic  resents  the  great  indignity. 
"  A  heart  of  stone?  Look  at  the  virtues  which  clus- 
ter around  humanity!  See  the  integrity  and  the 
truthfulness,  the  high-toned  honor  and  the  mag- 
nanimity, which  embellish  society!  Witness  the 
graceful  amenities  of  life;  the  inviolate  friendships; 
the  munificent  charities  !  And  let  these  testify  how 
gross  a  libel  that  is  upon  the  race,  which  ascribes  to 
man  a  '  heart  of  stone' !" 

Granted,  all.  Make  the  flattering  inventory  still 
more  flattering,  and  its  every  item  shall  be  acknowl- 
edged. The  brighter  the  vestments  in  which  you  in- 
fold your  idol,  the  clearer  do  you  bring  out  the  demon- 
stration that  his  heart  is  "  a  heart  of  stone."  It  is  of 
his  relations  God-%vard  \ki-^X.\\i&  Scriptures  aflirm  this 
quality  of  him.  And  if  anything  could  add  confirma- 
tion to  their  simple  and  emphatic  arraignment  of  the 
great  criminal,  it  would  be  found  in  the  very  facts 
invoked  to  disprove  it.  For  how  fathomless  must 
be  that  depravity  which  can  clothe  itself  in  all  this 
array  of  humility  and  complaisance  and  generosity 
and  gratitude,  where  man  is  concerned,  and  carry 
itself,  the  while,  with  a  bold,  thankless,  intolerant 
front  towards  the  Deity !  which  is  all  affability  and 
sympathy  towards  the  creature,  and  all  disloyalty 
and  hardihood   towards   the   Creator!    which    is   in- 


The  Balm  of  Gilead.  289 

stinct  with  pity  where  any — the  slightest — indica- 
tion of  human  suffering  is  presented,  and  turns  away 
without  one  emotion  of  tenderness  or  of  compunc- 
tion from  Gethsemane  and  from  Calvary ! 

Yes,  challenge  for  man  whatever  prodigality  you 
may  of  this  earth-born  virtue,  we  point  triumphantly 
to  it  as  vindicating  that  humbling  and  offensive  an- 
nouncement of  the  inspired  oracles,  that,  beneath 
all  this  specious  and  winning  exterior,  he  bears  in 
his  bosom  a  "  heart  of  stone." 

But  we  are  not  now  dealing  with  skeptics.  There 
are  those  who,  so  far  from  cavilling  at  this  represen- 
tation, freely  concede  its  truth.  They  have  the  testi- 
mony of  their  own  consciousness  to  its  accuracy. 
They  know  but  too  well  that  tJicir  hearts  are  hearts 
of  stone ;  for  they  have  long  found  them,  in  every- 
thing pertaining  to  the  Deity,  of  adamantine  obdu- 
racy. They  know  that  every  word  of  the  Bible  is 
true,  and  that  it  is  the  only  lamp  which  can  guide 
their  feet  into  the  way  of  life  ;  but  they  feel  an  in- 
vincible repugnance  to  adopting  it  as  their  chart. 
They  know  that  all  conceivable  perfections  meet  in 
the  character  of  the  ever-blessed  God ;  but  they  find 
no  satisfaction  in  meditating  upon  Him.  They  are 
familiar  with  the  whole  scheme  of  redemption ;  but 
it  yields  them  no  comfort.  They  are  too  well  in- 
structed in  the  Scriptures,  and  have  too  much  con- 
scientiousness, to  be  at  ease  while  leading  a  worldly 

25 


290  The  Balm  of  Gilead. 


life;  and,  at  times,  they  recoil  with  horror  from  the 
prospect  eternity  holds  out  to  them ;  but  they  do  not 
attempt  to  cheat  themselves  into  the  belief  that  they 
really  love  that  religion  which  alone  can  prepare 
them  for  their  last  change.  It  is  the  burden  of  their 
hearts  that  they  do  not  love  it.  They  have  reasoned 
with  themselves  on  the  surpassing  folly  and  impiety 
of  living  for  this  world  only.  They  are  convinced 
that  Jesus  Christ  ought  to  be  in  their  eyes  the  chief 
among  ten  thousand ;  that  they  ought  to  enthrone 
Him  in  their  hearts  with  a  grateful  and  confiding 
devotion ;  that  they  ought  to  delight  in  prayer,  and 
to  find  their  happiness  in  doing  God's  will.  They 
long  for  this.  They  would  make  any  earthly  sacri- 
fice to  accomplish  it.  They  have  labored  and  strug- 
gled to  bring  themselves  into  this  state  of  mind. 
But  all  in  vain.  Their  wayward  affections  will  not 
relax  their  hold  of  earth  at  the  bidding  of  reason 
and  conscience.  That  heart  of  stone  yields  as  little 
to  the  sublime  and  touching  motives  drawn  from  the 
perfections  of  Jehovah,  from  the  cross,  from  the 
judgment  and  eternity,  as  the  granite  rock  yields  to 
the  waves  which  break  over  it  with  the  ceaseless 
ebb  and  flow  of  the  tide.  They  have  read  the  most 
pungent  books.  They  have  listened  to  the  most 
faithful  sermons.  They  have  experienced  sad  and 
monitory  providences.  But  their  pathetic  complaint 
still  is, 


The  Balm  pf  Gilead.  291 

"  Alas  !  my  aching  heart ! 

Here  the  keen  torment  lies  ; 
It  racks  my  waking  hours  with  smart, 
And  frights  my  slumb'ring  eyes. 

"  He  offers  all  His  grace 

And  all  His  heaven  to  me  ; 
Offers  !  but  'tis  to  senseless  brass, 
That  cannot  feel  nor  see. 

"  O  shall  I  neve)-  feel 

The  meltings  of  Thy  love  ? 

Am  I  of  such  hell-hardened  steel 

That  mercy  cannot  move?" 

Here,  at  least,  is  a  class  of  sufferers  whom  no 
earth-born  philosophy  can  reach.  There  are  heights 
and  depths  in  their  misery  which  mock  your  poor 
measuring-lines,  and  show  how  little  human  wisdom 
and  human  sympathy  can  cope  with  sin  and  sorrow. 
But  are  they,  therefore,  to  be  abandoned  to  despair? 
Far  from  it.  There  is  a  voice  from  heaven, — let  all 
the  earth  keep  silence  before  it, — which  breaks  upon 
them  in  tones  of  blended  reproach  and  tenderness, 
and  says,  "Is  there  no  balm  in  Gilead;  is  there  no 
Physician  there?" 

Yes,  ye  fettered,  weary,  unblest  souls,  there  is 
balm  in  Gilead  and  a  Physician  there.  Your  case  is 
not  hopeless.  That  heart  of  stone  can  be  broken  in 
pieces.  That  proud  will  can  be  subdued.  Those 
intractable   affections    can  be    detached   from    earth 


292  The  Balfu  of  Gilead. 


and  lifted  to  the  skies.  The  love  of  Christ  may  yet 
burn  with  seraphic  ardor  in  that  breast  which  has 
hitherto  refused  Him  its  homage.  And  in  place  of 
the  ingratitude  and  distrust  with  which  you  have 
requited  Him,  your  joyful  protestation  may  yet  be 
heard,  "  Lord,  Thou  knowest  all  things :  Thou 
knowest  that  I  love  Thee." 

These  are  strange  sounds  to  you.  You  listen 
with  incredulity.  If  it  were  any  other  hinderance  or 
trial,  you  could  believe  this  auspicious  result  possi- 
ble :  because  you  understand  that  in  any  case,  all 
must  be  well  with  the  soul  if  it  do  but  come  to 
Christ.  But  in  your  case  here  lies  the  very  diffi- 
culty. This  heart  of  stone  will  not  consent  to  come 
to  Christ.  You  are  not  willing  to  come  to  Christ. 
You  are  convinced  that  you  ought  to  come.  Your 
inward  yearning  is,  "  Would  to  God  I  might  come  !" 
But  you  are  not  drawn  to  Him.  You  stand  as  if 
chained  to  the  world  by  some  fatal  fascination,  scorn- 
ing yourself  for  your  folly,  and  yet  unable  to  burst 
your  fetters  and  cry  with  the  prodigal,  "  I  zvill  arise 
and  go  unto  my  Father!" 

And  is  it  so  that  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  in  its  opu- 
lent provision  for  the  wants  and  woes  of  humanity, 
leaves  all  uncared  for,  a  calamity,  or,  if  you  will, 
a  crime,  so  appalling  as  this?  Has  it  no  arm  of 
mercy  to  stretch  forth  to  those  who  would  fain 
break   away  from    the    thraldom    of  sin    and    enter 


The  Balm  of  Gilead.  293 

upon  a  holy  life  ?  Assuredly  it  has.  Listen  to  its 
words:  "A  new  heart  also  will  I  give  you,  and  a 
new  spirit  will  I  put  within  you  :  and  /  zvill  take 
aivay  the  stony  heart  out  of  your  flesh,  and  I  will 
give  you  an  heart  of  flesh.  And  I  zvill  put  my  Spirit 
within  you,  and  cause  you  to  walk  in  my  statutes, 
and  ye  shall  keep  my  judgments  and  do  them." 
(Ezek.  xxxvi.  26,  27.) 

What  astonishing  words  of  truth  and  grace  are 
these  !  How  they  seem  to  have  been  put  on  record 
just  to  meet  the  very  case  with  which  we  are  deal- 
ing !  The  trouble  which  oppresses  you,  is  an  insen- 
sible, callous  heart, — a  heart  which  is  keenly  alive  to 
every  manifestation  of  human  sympathy,  but  dead 
to  all  the  munificence  of  God's  bounty;  and  which 
neither  mercy  nor  wrath  can  win  to  the  love  and 
practice  of  holiness.  Of  this  very  heart  the  Great 
Physician  says,  "  I  will  take  it  away,  and  I  will  give 
you  an  heart  of  flesh."  He  never  boasts.  He  never 
deceives.  He  is  able  to  do  all  that  He  offers  to  do. 
He  invites.  He  solicits,  you  to  entrust  that  heart  to 
His  hands.  Nay,  the  very  faith  which  this  act  im- 
plies is  His  gift,  and  He  offers  to  bestow  it  upon 
you.  His  Spirit  can  enable  you  to  believe.  He  can 
remove  your  repugnance  to  the  Gospel,  and  present 
it  to  you  in  its  true  light,  as  the  wisdom  and  the 
power  of  God ;  and  make  the  Saviour  appear  so 
glorious  in  your  eyes  that  you  will  wonder  you  could 

25* 


294  The  Balm  of  Gilead. 


ever  have  suffered  any  earthly  love  to  exceed  or  rival 
your  love  to  Him. 

Be  it  so,  that  your  sins  are  of  colossal  magnitude, 
and  as  the  stars  of  heaven  for  multitude.  That  is  a 
cogent  reason  for  repentance  and  contrition ;  it  is  no 
reason  for  declining  to  accept  "  the  balm  in  Gilead 
and  the  Physician  there."  When  the  Son  of  God 
expired  on  the  cross,  it  was  to  make  an  atonement 
for  sin.  Just  in  proportion  as  your  thoughts  rise 
to  any  proper  conceptions  of  the  infinite  value  and 
efficacy  of  that  sacrifice,  will  you  understand  that  it 
provides  an  antidote  even  for  the  pride,  and  the  un- 
belief, and  the  earthliness,  and  the  obduracy  which 
have  made  you  feel  that  while  there  was  hope  for 
others  there  could  be  no  hope  for  you. 

You  "have  no  real  sorrow  for  your  sins."  Christ  is 
"  exalted  as  a  Prince  and  a  Saviour,  to  give  repentance 
to  Israel,  and  remission  of  sins."  One  glimpse  of 
Him  whom  you  have  pierced,  such  as  the  Spirit  can 
afford  you,  will  make  streams  of  penitential  sorrow 
burst  from  that  heart  of  stone  as  the  waters  gushed 
from  the  smitten  rock.  You  "  have  no  faith."  But 
can  you  not  cry,  "  Lord,  I  would  believe.  Help  thou 
mine  unbelief"?  You  "  have  no  love."  Whoever 
loved  Him,  except  as  He  was  loved  by  Him  ?  "  We 
love  Him,  because  He  first  loved  us."  Let  Him  but 
reveal  His  love  to  you,  and  that  will  "  kindle  yours" 
as  nothing  else  can.     And  how  can  you  open  that 


The  Balm  of  Gilead,  295 

precious  Bible  upon  your  table,  and  question  His 
willingness  to  own  and  save  you  ?  "  But  it  cannot 
be"  (so  you  still  insist)  "  that  He  will  receive  a  wretch 
like  me, — so  obdurate  a  sinner, — one  who  has  sinned 
as  I  have,  knowingly  and  wilfully,  and  whose  heart 
even  now  is  like  the  nether  millstone.  "  O,  thou 
afflicted,  tossed  with  tempest,  and  not  comforted  !" 
Go  to  Him  and  see  if  He  will  not  receive  thee.  See 
whether  thy  sins  or  His  compassion  be  the  greater. 
See  whether  that  heart  of  adamant  which  mocks 
your  puny  powers  can  outmatch  Omnipotence.  See 
whether  that  marvel  has  at  length  been  found,  at 
which  all  the  universe  would  wonder  with  a  great 
astonishment, — a  sinner  so  hopelessly  diseased  that 
even  the  Great  Physician  and  the  Balm  in  Gilead 
cannot  cure  him.  No,  no  ;  not  such  will  be  your  ex- 
perience. Go  to  the  Saviour ;  and  earth  and  heaven 
will  one  day  hear  you  say, 

"  Love  I  much  ?  I'm  much  forgiven : 
I'm  a  miracle  of  grace." 


THE   SAVIOUR,  A   STRANGER   TO    HIS 
FRIENDS. 


John  xiv.  9. 


"  Have  I  been  so  long  time  zviih  you,  and  yet  hast  thoii 
not  known  vie  ?" 

Our  Saviour  had  just  announced  to  the  twelve 
His  approaching  departure  from  them.  Thomas, 
interrupting  Him,  inquires  whither  He  is  going, 
and  the  way  thither.  Jesus  rephes,  "  I  am  the  way, 
the  truth,  and  the  Hfe  :  no  man  cometh  unto  the 
Father,  but  by  me."  He  adds :  "  If  ye  had  known 
me,  ye  should  have  known  my  Father  also  :  and 
from  henceforth  ye  know  Him,  and  have  seen  Him," 
Hereupon  Philip  exclaims,  "  Lord,  show  us  the 
Father,  and  it  sufficeth  us,"  "  Jesus  saith  unto  him, 
Have  I  been  so  long  time  with  you,  and  yet  hast 
thou  not  known  me,  Philip  ?  he  that  hath  seen 
me  hath  seen  the  Father ;  and  how  sayest  thou 
then.  Show  us  the  Father?" 

These  are  very  remarkable  words,  "  God  is  a 
296 


The  Saviour,  a  Stranger  to  His  Friends.     297 

Spirit :"  and  (as  we  read)  "  no  man  hath  seen  God  at 
any  time."  What  could  Philip  mean  by  the  demand, 
"  Show  us  the  Father"  ?  And  still  more,  what  could 
his  Master  mean  by  saying,  "  He  that  hath  seen  me 
hath  seen  the  Father"  ? 

We  have  reason  to  believe  that  when  the  apostle 
describes  the  Deity  as  "  the  King  eternal,  immortal, 
invisible','  he  means  to  be  understood  literally :  that 
God  is  actually  "  invisible"  to  all  creatures ;  that 
neither  man  nor  seraph  has  ever  beheld  that  spiritual 
essence  which  constitutes  His  nature.  But  during 
the  period  which  elapsed  between  the  fall  and  the 
advent,  He  had  from  time  to  time  honored  our  globe 
with  some  palpable  manifestations  of  His  presence. 
Every  reader  of  the  Scriptures  will  recall  the  burn- 
ing bush ;  the  pillar  of  cloud  and  of  fire ;  the  awful 
splendors  of  Sinai  ;  the  sublime  vision  of  Isaiah  when 
he  "  saw  the  Lord  sitting  on  a  throne  high  and  lifted 
up,  His  train  filling  the  temple."  The  Jews  inter- 
preted the  prophecies  as  signifying  that,  under  the 
reign  of  the  Messiah,  these  manifestations  would 
become  more  frequent  and  decisive.  In  this  view, 
Philip's  language  is  quite  intelligible.  On  hearing 
Jesus  say,  "  Ye  have  seen  Him  (the  Father) ;"  his 
mind  reverted  to  the  imposing  symbols  through 
which  the  Deity  had  revealed  Himself  to  their 
fathers.  And  recalling  nothing  of  this  kind  in  the 
experience  of  himself  and  his  fellow-apostles,  he  re- 


298      The  Saviour^  a  Stranger  to  His  Friends. 


plies  with  the  utmost  simplicity,  "  Lord,  sliow  us  the 
Father:  this  is  all  we  desire." 

The  answer  of  Jesus  carries  with  it  a  gentle  re- 
proof, made  the  more  effective  because  addressed  to 
him  by  name.  "  Have  I  been  so  long  time  with  you 
('u,awv^  plural)," — literally,  "Am  I  so  long  time  with 
you,  my  apostles,  and  yet  hast  tJioii  not  known  me, 
Philip?"  As  if  He  had  said :  "  I  did  not  expect  this 
from  you,  Philip.  At  the  very  opening  of  my  minis- 
try I  took  you  into  the  number  of  my  disciples. 
You  and  your  brethren  have  now  been  with  me  for 
three  years.  And  can  it  be  that  you  do  not  know 
me?  that  you  are  still  ignorant  of  that  union  which 
subsists  between  the  Father  and  myself,  in  virtue  of 
which  '  I  and  my  Father  are  one ;'  so  that  he  that 
hath  seen  me  hath  seen  the  Father?" 

How  much  the  twelve  knew  of  His  nature  and 
mission  we  cannot  decide.  The  complete  unfolding 
of  the  doctrine  of  His  Supreme  Deity  was  reserved 
for  the  period  after  His  ascension.  But  He  had  not 
left  Himself  without  witness  during  His  previous  min- 
istry. He  had  given  even  the  nation  at  large  such 
proofs  of  His  Messiahship,  that  they  were  left  with- 
out excuse  in  their  rejection  of  Him.  And  these 
credentials  were  largely  amplified  in  the  case  of  the 
few  men  who  were  admitted  to  His  personal  confi- 
dence, listened  to  His  teachings,  saw  His  miracles, 
and  were  in  daily  fellowship  with  Him.     How  could 


The  Saviour,  a  Stranger  to  His  Friends.     299 

they  fail  to  discern  the  beams  of  His  Divinity  ?  to  see 
in  His  words  and  works  and  Hfe,  a  far  more  wonder- 
ful "  manifestation"  of  the  Deity,  than  in  any  of  those 
glorious  symbols  which  had  ravished  the  eyes  and 
awed  the  hearts  of  patriarchs  and  prophets  ?  In  a 
word,  to  acknowledge  and  adore  Him  as  the  "  Bright- 
ness of  the  Father's  glory  and  the  express  Image  of 
His  Person"  ?  Can  we  marvel  at  the  mild  reproach 
conveyed  by  His  reply  to  Philip:  "  Have  I  been  so 
long  time  with  you,  and  yet  hast  thou  not  known 
me?" 

But  was  Philip  alone  open  to  this  censure  ?  Is  it 
quite  certain  that  there  have  been  no  disciples  since, 
that  there  may  not  be  some  in  our  own  day,  and 
even  here  among  ourselves,  whom  the  Saviour,  if 
present,  might  have  occasion  to  chide  for  their  very 
imperfect  knowledge  of  Him?  Let  us  consider  this 
matter. 

In  respect  to  His  true  nature  and  exalted  rank  (the 
very  point  at  which  Philip  stumbled),  there  may  be 
those  around,  if  not  within,  the  Church,  to  whom 
He  would  have  but  too  much  reason  to  say,  "  Have 
I  been  so  long  time  with  you,  and  yet  hast  thou  not 
known  me  ?" 

With  us  all,  He  has  been  from  our  infancy ;  with 
us  by  His  works,  His  word,  and  His  Spirit.  And 
yet  there  are  some  who  seem  not  to  have  learned 
who  and  what  He  is.     They  have  all  the  testimonies 


300     The  Saviour,  a  Stranger  to  His  Friends. 


on  this  point  which  had  been  given  to  the  twelve  up 
to  the  period  of  this  conversation,  and  very  many 
besides,  of  a  still  more  unequivocal  character.  Yet 
they  do  not  know  Him.  They  are  still  crying, 
"  SJioiv  us  the  Deity,  and  it  sufficeth  us."  "  Show 
us  the  Deity !"  Will  you  explain,  before  you  press 
this  demand  further,  who  it  is  that  has  been  with  you 
all  this  while  ?  Turn  to  His  history.  Note  how 
He  speaks  of  the  great  Jehovah.  "  As  the  Father 
knoweth  me,  even  so  know  I  the  Father."  "  What- 
soever thing  the  Father  doeth,  these  also  doeth  the 
Son  likewise."  "  As  the  Father  raiseth  up  the  dead, 
and  quickeneth  them,  even  so  the  Son  quickeneth 
whom  He  will."  "  All  men  should  honor  the  Son 
even  as  they  honor  the  Father."  "  I  and  my  Father 
are  one."  Is  it  possible  you  should  not  know  who 
the  Being  is  that  thus  associates  Himself  with  the 
universal  Father,  and  challenges  an  equality  with 
Him? 

Place  yourselves  by  His  side,  and  what  do  you  see 
and  hear?  He  talks  about  the  unseen  world  as  He 
does  about  this  world,  without  effort  or  parade,  freely 
and  familiarly,  as  One  who  is  equally  at  home  there 
and  here.  He  deals  with  the  powers  of  nature,  with 
diseases  of  every  type,  and  with  death  itself,  as  an  ab- 
solute Master  with  His  servants.  At  His  command 
"  the  blind  receive  their  sight,  and  the  lame  walk,  the 
lepers  are  cleansed,  and  the  deaf  hear,  the  dead  are 


The  Saviour,  a  Stranger  to  His  Friends.     30 1 

raised  up;"  devils  are  exorcised  ;  and  the  boisterous 
sea  is  hushed  to  rest.  He  dies,  and  nature  robes  itself 
in  mourning,  the  rocks  rend,  and  the  graves  open. 
He  breaks  the  bars  of  the  grave  asunder,  ascends  to 
heaven,  and  pours  out  the  Spirit  upon  His  Church, 
the  irrefragable  and  crowning  proof  that  the  Father 
has  set  His  seal  to  all  that  He  taught  and  all  He 
claimed  to  be,  and  yet  you  do  not  know  Him ! 

Anointed  of  His  Spirit,  the  apostles  go  forth  to 
publish  His  name  and  grace  to  the  perishing  nations. 
They  repeat  His  own  miracles.  They  have  but  to 
pronounce  His  name,  and  not  only  does  disease  sur- 
render its  victims,  but  the  grave  opens  its  gloomy 
portals,  and  its  prisoners  come  forth  into  the  blessed 
light  of  day.  They  hold  Him  up  to  a  ruined  world 
as  the  only  Saviour.  And  that  no  sinner  may  dis- 
trust His  ability  to  "save  to  the  uttermost,"  they 
proclaim  that  He  is  "the  true  God";  that  He  is 
"  over  all  God  blessed  forever" ;  that  "  all  the 
angels  of  God  worship  Him"  ;  and  that  even  God 
the  Father  addresses  Him  in  words  like  these: 
"Thy  throne,  O  God,  is  for  ever  and  ever."  (i  John 
V.  20  ;  Rom.  ix.  5  ;  Heb.  i.  6,  8.)  And  yet  you  do 
not  know  Him  ! 

For  eighteen  centuries  the  religion  He  came  to 
establish  has  been  the  ruling  agency  in  our  world; 
the  most  powerful  of  all  elements  in  moulding  the 
characters  of  individuals  and  shaping  the  destiny  of 

26 


JO 2      The  Saviour,  a  Strati  (^er  to  His  Friends. 


nations.  With  Philip  and  his  companions,  when  this 
reproof  was  uttered,  it  was  an  untried  system.  Nay, 
the  grand  event  in  which  all  its  efficacy  was  bound 
up  had  not  taken  place.  Not  so  with  us.  The 
blood  of  atonement  has  been  shed.  God's  cure  for 
the  world's  maladies  has  been  tested.  And  there  is 
no  one  here  who  can  gainsay  its  virtue, — or  if  he 
should,  millions  of  witnesses  might  be  summoned 
from  the  living  and  the  dead  to  confront  him.  Just 
in  proportion  as  the  world  has  received  and  obeyed 
Jesus  of  Nazareth,  it  has  been  blessed  with  peace 
and  happiness:  wherever  it  has  rejected  Him,  it  has 
reaped  a  harvest  of  sin  and  sorrow  and  suffering. 
All  this  has  been  passing  and  repassing  before  men's 
eyes  from  the  day  of  Pentecost  until  now  ;  and  yet 
there  are  those  to  whom  the  Son  of  God  might  say 
to-day,  "  Have  I  been  so  long  time  with  you,  and 
yet  have  you  not  known  me  ?"  Consider,  I  entreat 
you,  whether  you  are  ever  likely  to  know  Him.  If 
such  credentials  as  those  which  have  been  glanced 
at  do  not  satisfy  you,  what  would  satisfy  you  ?  If 
these  do  not  prove  Him  to  be  "one  with  the  Father," 
what  form  or  measure  of  evidence  could  establish 
this  point?  Sad  enough  would  it  be  if  you  should 
continue  to  resist  all  this  light  until  you  are  sum- 
moned to  His  bar,  to  discover  too  late,  amidst  the 
overpowering  splendors  of  the  Judgment,  that  to 
see  Jesus  of  Nazareth  is  to  see  the  FatJicr ;  and  that 


The  Saviour,  a  Stranger  to  His  Friends.     303 

to  be  rejected  by  Him  is  to  be  banished  from  the 
presence  of  the  Lord  of  Glory. 

But  He  might  find  room  for  this  question  even 
within  the  sphere  of  His  own  household. 

(i)  /;/  respect  to  the  efficacy  of  His  sacidfice.  It  is 
not  meant  that  any  real  believer  would  impugn  the 
truth  and  reality  of  the  atonement.  But  it  is  quite 
compatible  with  a  genuine  piety,  for  a  child  of  God 
to  entertain  at  times  unworthy  views  of  this  great 
transaction.  Whether  in  regard  to  his  own  sins,  or 
to  the  sins  of  some  fellow-ereature,  such  an  one  may 
yield  to  a  culpable  distrust  concerning  Christ's  abil- 
ity to  "  save  to  the  uttermost."  The  recorded  expe- 
rience of  many  believers  is  chequered  with  painful 
doubts  upon  this  very  subject.  Their  sense  of  sin 
is  too  much  for  their  faith.  On  the  abstract  ques- 
tion of  the  atonement  they  are  firm  as  a  rock.  But 
whether  it  can  avail  for  them  ;  whether  their  offences 
do  not  outmatch  its  efficacy ;  whether  their  crimson 
guilt  will  not  retain  its  fatal  dye  even  beneath  the 
droppings  of  the  cross, — ^just  here  is  the  point  at 
which  the  Master  might  look  them  in  the  face  and 
say,  "  Have  I  been  so  long  time  with  you,  and  yet 
hast  thou  not  known  me  ?"  For  with  what  proofs 
has  He  not  illustrated  the  sufficiency  of  His  sacri- 
fice? For  four  thousand  years  that  the  world  was 
kept  in  waiting  for  it,  the  offerings  that  smoked  on 
patriarchal  and  Jewish  altars  derived  from  it  all  their 


304      Tfu  Saviour,  a  Stranger  to  His  Friends. 

value.  The  Bible  is  filled  with  testimonies,  prophet- 
ical and  historical,  typical  and  experimental,  to  its 
Divine  efficacy.  In  every  form  of  language  we  are 
told  that  the  Father  sent  His  beloved  Son  into  the 
world  to  bear  our  sins ;  and  that  Jesus  died  even  for 
the  chief  of  sinners.  In  the  Fountain  thus  opened 
for  sin  and  for  uncleanness,  multitudes  of  the  vilest 
transgressors  had  been  washed  from  their  sins  be- 
fore the  advent ;  and  others  yet  more  depraved  have 
been  cleansed  since.  In  numerous  instances  we 
have  seen  the  mighty  transformation  with  our  own 
eyes ;  nay,  we  may  ourselves  have  experienced  it. 
Every  day  new  witnesses  come  forward  to  attest  the 
healing  virtue  of  this  precious  blood.  And  it  is  not 
meet  that  we  should,  any  of  us,  scruple  whether  it 
be  a  sufficient  expiation  for  the  sins  of  the  world. 
To  do  this  is  not  simply  to  decline  the  comfort 
which  the  Gospel  tenders  us:  it  is  to  reproach  the 
Saviour  with  having  failed  in  the  work  He  set  out 
to  accomplish.  For  He  came  to  bear  the  iniquities 
of  His  people ;  to  deliver  them  from  their  bondage ; 
and  to  fit  them  for  heaven.  He  is  able  to  do  this 
for  every  one  of  them.  He  is  able  to  cleanse  the 
very  foulest  sinners,  and  to  make  them  Kings  and 
Priests  unto  God.  And  not  to  believe  this,  is  to  ex- 
pose one's  self  to  the  reproof  from  His  lips,  "  Have 
I  been  so  long  time  with  you,  and  yet  hast  thou  not 
known  me?" 


The  Saviour,  a  Stranger  to  His  Friends,    305 

(2)  His  people  may  incur  the  same  reproach  in 
respect  to  the  benevolence  and  tenderness  of  His 
nature. 

The  trials  of  life  are  a  crucible  as  well  to  the 
gracious  as  to  the  natural  affections  of  the  heart. 
The  Christian  is  allowed  no  exemption  from  them. 
Sickness  and  suffering,  misfortune  and  bereavement, 
come  alike  to  the  just  and  to  the  unjust.  And  super- 
added to  these  troubles,  the  child  of  God  is  exposed 
to  others  peculiar  to  his  own  sphere  and  most  diffi- 
cult to  bear.  I  refer,  of  course,  to  the  Christian 
warfare;  the  conflict  with  sin  and  temptation;  with 
the  world  and  Satan.  This  it  is,  even  more  than  his 
varied  and  threatening  earthly  trials,  which  inspires 
the  pensive  sadness  of  so  many  of  David's  Psalms; 
and  which  we  find  repeated  in  the  experience  of 
many  eminent  saints  in  later  times.  In  both  these 
forms  of  trouble,  the  natural  and  the  spiritual,  the 
soul  is  apt  to  faint.  Faith  is  overpowered  by  sense. 
The  oppressed  believer  cries  in  anguish,  "  Why  hast 
Thou  forgotten  me  ?"  "  My  heart  is  sore  pained 
within  me,  and  the  terrors  of  death  are  fallen  upon 
me."  *'  Make  haste,  O  God,  to  deliver  me :  make 
haste  to  help  me,  O  Lord." 

It  is  the  cry  of  the  affrighted  disciples  over  again, 
"  Master,  carest  Thou  not  that  we  perish  ?"  Yes,  He 
does  care.  Do  you  think  that  while  He  lay  calmly 
sleeping  in  that  boat  upon  the  stormy  Gennesareth 

26* 


3o6     The  Saviour,  a  Stranger  to  His  Fi'iends. 


He  was  ignorant  of  the  tempest  that  was  breaking 
over  their  frail  shallop;  or  that  He  was  for  one  mo- 
ment unmindful  of  those  faithful  but  timid  mariners? 
Not  less  certain  is  it  that  He  takes  note  of  every 
storm  that  beats  upon  the  heads  of  His  disciples, 
and  that,  in  His  own  time  and  way,  He  will  succor 
them.     It  may  happen — it  often  does  happen — that 
He  comes  near  to  His  people  when  they  are  amidst 
the  billows,  and  seems  as  though  He  would  pass  by 
without  heeding  their  signals  of  distress.     But  this 
is  only  a  seeming  purpose.     He  would  prove  their 
faith  and  patience,  and  then  He  will  come  to  them. 
How    can    they   question  it?       He    "came    to    bind 
up  the  broken-hearted,"   and    to   "  comfort  all  that 
mourn."     This  was  essentially  the  character  of  His 
personal    ministry.      You    might    have    traced    Him 
throughout  Palestine  by  the  crowds  of  sufferers  and 
mourners  who  followed  Him.    His  was  no  triumphal 
procession  such  as  princes  and  conquerors  delight 
in ;  no  bannered  array  of  soldiers  and  citizens  exult- 
ing in  victories  achieved  or  anticipated.     The  train 
that  waited  upon  His  steps  was  made  up  of  the  sick 
and  the  palsied  restored  or  to  be  restored  to  health  ; 
of  lepers  pleading  to   be    cleansed    and   demoniacs 
cured;  of  mothers  comforted  and  children  shouting 
their  grateful  hosannas.     It  mattered  not   how   de- 
graded in  condition,  or  how  foul  in   character  the 
suppliant  who  appealed  to  Him,  the  coveted  relief 


The  Savioui',  a  Stranger  to  His  Friends.     307 

was  never  denied.  With  unwearied  labor  He  sought 
out  the  needy  and  succored  them.  The  errors  and 
falls  of  His  apostles  could  not  exhaust  His  patience. 
He  entered  into  the  bereavements  of  His  friends  as 
though  they  were  His  own.  He  displayed  even  to- 
wards the  sinful  and  vile  a  tenderness  which  showed 
how  sincere  and  profound  was  His  sympathy  with 
frail  humanity.  Everything  in  His  teachings,  every- 
thing in  His  life,  exhibits  Him  to  us  as  the  wisest 
and  best  of  Counsellors,  the  most  faithful  and  com- 
passionate of  Friends. 

No  one  amongst  us  can  be  a  stranger  to  these 
things.  They  were  not  done  in  a  corner.  The 
beautiful  narrative  which  records  them  is  our  earliest 
and  our  latest  reading,  our  hand-book  throug^h  life. 
And  many  are  the  opportunities  we  enjoy  of  seeing 
these  miracles  of  mercy  repeated  as  we  go  along  on 
our  pilgrimage.  "The  same  yesterday,  to-da)-,  and 
forever,"  the  offices  of  love  and  sympathy  which  He 
exercised  in  Judea,  He  renews  here  in  our  country 
and  wherever  His  name  is  known.  And  yet  there 
are  those  who  permit  themselves  to  distrust  His 
faithfulness  or  His  patience;  His  power  or  His  pity. 
In  the  blasting  of  their  earthly  plans ;  in  the  great- 
ness of  their  bereavements  ;  in  the  turpitude  of  their 
backslidings, — they  secretly,  if  not  avowedly,  ques- 
tion whether  He  has  not  cast  them  off,  or  whether 
they  may  venture  to  look  to  Him  again  for  pardon 


3o8     The  Saviour,  a  Stranger  to  His  Friends. 


and  deliverance.  It  is  common  with  the  afflicted  to 
feel  that  no  sorrow  was  ever  like  their  sorrow. 
Tempted  and  desponding  believers  can  conceive  of 
nothing  short  of  the  second  death  which  exceeds 
their  troubles.  The  awakened  backslider  sees  only 
the  frown  of  an  angry  God.  And  unbelief  will 
thrust  its  suggestions  upon  these  sufferers  in  their 
moments  of  weakness,  and  raise  the  doubt  in  their 
minds  whether  the  Saviour  has  not  forgotten  them. 
Sometimes,  if  they  dared,  they  would  cry,  "  Lord, 
dost  Thou  not  care  that  I  perish  ?" 

With  how  much  reason  might  He  say — and  how 
surely  would  He  say — to  these  doubting  souls, 
"  Have  I  been  so  long  time  with  you,  and  yet  have 
you  not  known  me?"  Not  one  word  would  He 
utter  in  disparagement  of  the  severity  of  their  trials ; 
still  less  a  word  which  might  lead  lukewarm  or  fallen 
disciples  to  think  lightly  of  their  sins.  He  cannot 
but  feel  these  most  keenly.  No  bosom  is  so  sensi- 
tive to  ingratitude  as  His.  No  one  can  be  so  much 
alive  to  the  failings  and  faults  of  His  friends.  The 
oneness  which  subsists  between  Him  and  His  disci- 
ples brings  home  their  delinquencies  to  His  heart, 
as  a  parent  feels  the  misconduct  of  a  child.  The 
wounds  they  inflict  must  be  more  painful  to  Him 
than  the  rudest  assaults  of  His  open  foes.  Still,  He 
would  not  have  them  mistake  His  nature  by  taking 
Him  to  be  such  an  one  as  themselves.     While  He 


The  Saviour,  a  Stranger  to  His  Friends.     309 


condemns  the  sin,  He  can  love  the  sinner.  He 
knows  what  they  ought  to  know,  that  His  blood  can 
avail  to  cleanse  them  anew,  and  to  heal  their  back- 
slidings.  He  remembers  a  disciple  who  defiled  His 
throne  with  the  blackest  crimes  ;  and  another  who 
denied  Him  in  His  very  hearing  with  cursing  and 
oaths  :  both  of  whom,  on  their  repentance.  He  re- 
ceived into  His  favor.  And,  as  if  marvelling  that 
you  should  forget  occurrences  like  these,  so  often 
repeated  in  later  days,  it  is  not  strange  He  should 
say  to  you,  "  Have  I  been  so  long  time  with  you, 
and  yet  hast  thou  not  known  me  ?" 

And  so  with  the  afflicted  and  the  tempted.  Why 
should  you  distrust  Him  when  He  has  given  you 
no  real  cause  for  it?  Is  not  His  hand  in  this  trial  ? 
Did  He  not  admonish  His  people  that  "  in  the  world 
they  should  have  tribulation"  ?  Does  He  put  any 
cup  of  sorrow  to  their  lips  which  has  not  first  been 
pressed  to  His  own  ?  Is  it  not  in  infinite  love  and 
faithfulness  He  has  sent  these  trials?  Does  He  not 
sit  by,. like  a  refiner  and  purifier  of  silver,  to  see  that 
the  fire  only  purifies  without  destroying  the  precious 
ore?  Is  not  the  whole  history  of  His  Church  a 
record  of  kindred  experiences,  wherein  He  has  ap- 
pointed His  people  to  "suffer,  that  they  might  also 
reign  with  Him"  ?  And  can  you  not  even  now 
hear  His  mild,  reproving  voice  through  your  sighs 
and   sobs,  "  O   thou   of  little   faith,  wherefore   didst 


3IO     The  Saviour,  a  Stranger  to  His  Friends. 

thou  doubt?"  Do  not,  then,  give  Him  occasion  to 
come  again  to  you  with  the  chiding,  "  Have  I  been 
so  long  time  with  you,  and  yet  hast  thou  not  known 
me  ?" 

(3)  Another  subject  in  respect  to  which  His  peo- 
ple often  lay  themselves  open  to  this  reproach,  is 
prayer. 

They  pray,  and  their  prayers  seem  not  to  be 
answered.  What  can  it  mean  ?  There  is  the  prom- 
ise :  "Ask,  and  ye  shall  receive."  "  Whatsoever  ye 
shall  ask  in  my  name,  that  will  I  do."  They  have 
asked,  but  have  not  received.  They  have  asked, 
and  He  has  not  "  done  it."  And  now  they  are  de- 
pressed and  anxious.  Repining  thoughts  begin  to 
stir  their  bosoms.  "  He  hath  forgotten  to  be  gra- 
cious." "  My  way  is  hid  from  the  Lord,  and  my 
judgment  is  passed  over  from  my  God."  But  does 
He  deserve  this  at  your  hands?  He  is  the  hearer  of 
prayer.  But  has  He  anywhere  engaged  to  answer 
prayer  at  once;  and  in  the  very  mode  and  measure 
that  our  wishes  would  prescribe  ?  This  would  be  to 
make  us  the  arbiters  of  our  own  destiny.  It  would 
be  taking  the  sceptre  out  of  His  hands,  and  dictating 
the  course  of  His  providence  towards  us.  Is  there 
any  Christian  who  would  assume  the  responsibility 
of  deciding  just  how  and  when  his  prayers  should 
be  answered  ?  The  very  nature  of  prayer  implies 
that  this  is  the  sole  prerogative  of  Him  to  whom 


The  Saviour,  a  Stranger  to  His  Fjdends.     3 1 1 

our  supplications  are  addressed.  His  promise  to 
answer  prayer,  involves  no  abandonment  of  His 
right  to  decide  upon  the  mode  and  measure  of  His 
answ^er.  This  He  must  do  not  only  in  virtue  of  His 
Sovereignty,  but  in  justice  to  His  people.  It  were 
no  kindness  to  them  to  consult  only  their  wisdom 
and  their  wishes  in  granting  their  requests.  The 
prayer  of  Philip  was,  "  Lord,  show  us  the  Father." 
The  Saviour  answered  it;  but  it  was  in  His  own  way, 
not  in  Philip's  way.  Do  you  side  with  the  disciple 
or  the  Master  here  ?  And  if  with  the  Master,  why 
should  it  surprise  you  that  He  treats  your  petitions 
in  the  same  manner?  He  has  done  this  from  the 
day  He  promised  a  Deliverer  to  our  first  parents  in 
the  garden  until  now.  Not  to  know  it,  is  to  be 
ignorant  of  the  history  of  prayer  and  promise.  And 
not  to  heed  it,  is  to  give  Him  occasion  to  say, 
"  Have  I  been  so  long  time  with  you,  and  yet  hast 
thou  not  known  me  ?" 

(4)  Tlie  fear  of  deatJi  is  another  of  the  experiences 
in  respect  to  which  His  people  often  expose  them- 
selves to  this  reproach. 

It  is  natural  to  fear  death.  The  Bible  aside,  it  is 
reasonable.  Why  should  we  not  fear  a  change  which 
sunders  all  earthly  ties,  and  ushers  the  disembodied 
spirit  into  an  unseen  and  unknown  world?  a  change 
which  summons  the  soul  into  the  presence  of  its 
Maker  to  have  its  eternal  state  irrevocably  decided  ? 


3 1 2     The  Saviour^  a  Stranger  to  His  Friends. 

So  long  as  they  have  only  their  own  fragile  good- 
ness to  rely  upon,  men  ought  to  fear  death.  But 
our  discourse  now  is  of  Christians  who  are  in  bond- 
age to  this  fear.  Very  many  of  them  there  are.  Con- 
scientious, it  may  be,  and  upright  believers ;  not 
ciphers  in  the  Church,  but  in  full  sympathy  with  all 
that  concerns  the  welfare  of  religion  ;  the  thought  of 
death,  nevertheless,  keeps  a  perpetual  shadow  upon 
their  path.  Life  puts  on  a  pensive  cast  with  them. 
Their  pleasures  are  only  half  enjoyed,  and  their  trials 
are  doubled,  by  the  apprehension  that  in  the  end  the 
last  enemy  may  despoil  them  of  their  hope,  and  bear 
them  away  into  a  remediless  captivity. 

I  am  not  speaking,  let  me  repeat,  of  mere  formal 
professors  who  maybe  haunted  with  this  fear:  but  of 
those  whose  humility  and  love  and  delight  in  God's 
worship  and  service  attest  their  discipleship.  When 
such  disciples  bow  their  necks  to  this  yoke  of  bond- 
age, they  do  a  great,  though  undesigned,  wrong  to 
their  Master.  For  has  He  not  conquered  death  ? 
Did  He  not  die  to  destroy  him  that  had  the  power 
of  death  ?  Is  death  anything  more  to  the  believer 
than  the  Saviour's  own  coming  to  conduct  him 
home,  as  He  Himself  has  represented  it :  "I  will 
come  again  and  receive  you  unto  myself,  that  where 
I  am,  there  ye  may  be  also."  Not  only  so:  but 
there  are  constant  examples  of  these  doubting,  heavy- 
laden   souls   dying   in   peace.      Their  fears   are   not 


The  Saviour,  a  Stranger  to  His  Friends.     3 1 3 

realized.  As  the  time  of  their  departure  approaches, 
their  faith  waxes  stronger.  The  nearer  death  comes, 
the  less  formidable  he  looks.  And  when  the  en- 
counter actually  occurs,  they  are  sure  to  win  a  peace- 
ful and,  it  may  be,  an  exulting  victory, — enough,  it 
might  seem,  to  shame  all  similar  doubters  out  of 
their  distrust  of  the  Redeemer's  faithfulness. 

It  was  meet  that  Bunyan  should  sketch  this  scene 
for  us.  You  will  recall,  as  among  his  pilgrims,  "  Mr. 
Despondency,"  and  his  daughter,  "  Much-Afraid." 
How  did  the  journey  end  with  tliem?  "Then  Mr, 
Despondency  said  to  his  friends,  '  Myself  and  my 
daughter,  you  know  what  we  have  been,  and  how 
troublesomely  we  have  behaved  ourselves  in  every 
company.  My  will  and  my  daughter's  is,  that  our 
desponds  and  slavish  fears  be  by  no  man  ever  re- 
ceived, from  the  day  of  our  departure  forever:  for  I 
know  that  after  my  death  they  will  offer  themselves 
to  others.  For,  to  be  plain  with  you,  they  are  ghosts 
which  we  entertained  when  we  first  began  to  be  pil- 
grims, and  could  never  shake  them  off  after;  and 
they  will  walk  about  and  seek  entertainment  of  the 
pilgrims :  but  for  our  sakes,  shut  the  doors  upon 
them.'  When  the  time  was  come  for  them  to  depart, 
they  went  up  to  the  brink  of  the  river.  The  last 
words  of  Mr.  Despondency  were,  'Farewell,  night; 
welcome,  day !'  His  daughter  went  through  the  river 
singing;  but  none  could  understand  what  she  said." 

27 


314     The  Saviour,  a  Sti'anger  to  His  Friends. 


And  this  is  the  way  in  which  these  desponding: 
believers  usually  die.  Why,  then,  should  they  go 
through  life  with  an  habitual  distrust  of  their  Lord  ? 
Why  should  they  question  either  His  ability  or  His 
willingness  to  bring  them  safely  to  His  kingdom? 
Why  give  Him  so  much  cause  for  the  complaint, 
"  Have  I  been  so  long  time  with  you,  and  yet  hast 
thou  not  known  me  ?" 

(5)  He  may  utter  this  reproach  when  His  people 
are  disconcerted  or  alarmed  at  the  course  of  His  provi- 
dence. 

I  refer  especially  to  events  of  a  public  nature,  such 
as  the  prevalence  of  gross  heresies ;  defections  from 
the  Church  ;  disasters  to  the  cause  of  missions;  per- 
secutions ;  wars  among  Christian  nations,  and  the 
like.  We  need  not  shrink  from  the  confession : 
events  sometimes  occur  which  confound  all  our  wis- 
dom and  fill  us  with  anxious  forebodings.  On  a  su- 
perficial glance  one  might  be  ready  to  ask,  whether 
God  has  not  for  the  time  surrendered  the  helm  of  the 
universe  to  other  hands,  so  adverse  is  the  current  of 
things  to  what  we  have  believed  to  be  His  plans,  and 
so  menacing  to  the  best  interests  of  mankind.  Of 
course  no  Christian  can  really  question  whether  He 
still  reigns ;  but  faith  is  sorely  tried  by  these  inscru- 
table dispensations.  We  stand  in  mute  wonder,  afraid 
to  picture  to  ourselves  the  frightful  calamities  which 
seem   about   to  fall   upon   the   world,  and    uj^on   the 


The  Saviour,  a  Stranger  to  His  Friends.     315 

Church.  It  is  while  His  people  are  oppressed  with 
fears  like  these  the  Saviour  may  be  supposed  to 
come  to  them  with  the  admonition,  "  Have  I  been 
so  long  time  with  you,  and  yet  hast  thou  not  known 
me  ?"  "  So  long  time !"  He  may  well  say  this. 
For  when  was  it  ever  otherwise  with  His  provi- 
dence ?  It  began  in  clouds  and  darkness,  and  they 
have  not  to  this  hour  been  dispersed.  Scarcely  a 
period  can  be  named  when  His  government  of  the 
world  has  not  presented  phenomena  which  have  per- 
plexed His  people,  and  turned  their  wisdom  to  fool- 
ishness. We  are  oppressed  by  the  mysteries  of  our 
own  day.  Very  profound  they  are  ;  too  intricate  to 
be  resolved  by  our  philosophy.  But  the  generations 
before  us  were  subjected  to  the  same  discipline. 
There  were  enigmas  in  His  providence  which  baffled 
their  penetration.  And  they  had  their  fears,  as  we 
have  ours,  concerning  the  probable  consequences  to 
the  cause  of  human  liberty,  and  the  still  higher  in- 
terests of  Christianity.  We  cannot  easily  repress 
such  fears.  But  there  are  two  considerations  which 
should  never  be  lost  sight  of;  which,  as  Christians, 
it  were  a  sin  for  us  to  lose  sight  of  One  is,  that 
whatever  the  aspect  of  His  dispensations,  Christ  is 
on  the  throne.  The  government  is  upon  His  shoul- 
der. All  power  has  been  given  Him  in  heaven  and 
in  earth ;  and  nothing  can  happen  except  as  a  part 
of  His  plan  for  carrying  forward  the  affairs  of  our 


3 1 6     The  Saviour^  a  Stranger  to  His  Friends. 

world.  He  has  not  undertaken  to  do  this  in  a  way 
which  we  might  suggest  or  commend.-  On  the  con- 
trary, He  has  governed  the  world  from  the  outset  in 
a  manner  altogether  alien  from  any  scheme  we  could 
have  devised.  This  admitted  fact  should  abate  our 
astonishment  at  the  methods  of  His  providence  now. 
They  may  not  be  what  we  would  have  desired.  They 
may  fill  our  bosoms  with  sorrowful  anticipations. 
But  they  must  be  infinitely  wise  and  jilst,  because 
He  orders  or  permits  them.  For  the  present  they 
may  be  charged  with  evil  ;  and  the  chief  agents  in 
them  may  incur  a  flagrant  criminality.  But  they 
must  coalesce  with  His  immutable  purposes,  and  will 
ultimately  be  overruled  to  His  glory. 

And  this  connects  itself  with  the  second  consider- 
ation just  adverted  to,  viz.,  that  Jesus  Christ  loves  the 
Church  with  a  boundless  love,  and  will  never  aban- 
don it  to  its  foes.  Of  His  purposes  concerning  par- 
ticular nations,  the  Jews  only  excepted.  He  has  told 
us  nothing,  and  therefore  we  know  nothing.  For 
aught  we  can  tell,  Africa  may  yet  become,  for  the 
second  time,  the  chief  seat  of  civilization ;  or  mis- 
sionaries of  the  cross  may  go  from  Canton  and  Ava 
to  preach  the  Gospel  in  Spain  and  Italy.  We  are 
equally  ignorant  of  the  future  of  our  own  country. 
Not  so,  however,  with  the  Church.  This  is  Christ's 
purchased  heritage,  the  Bride,  the  Lamb's  Wife.  It 
is  graven  upon  the  palms  of  His  hands,  and  can  no 


The  Saviour^  a  Stranger  to  His  Friends.     3 1 7 

more  perish  than  He  can.  It  is  His  chosen  habita- 
tion :  "  This  is  my  rest  forever ;  here  will  I  dwell." 
It  may  suffer  from  the  wars  and  tumults  of  earth.  It 
often  has  suffered.  It  has  sometimes  been  brought 
very  low.  But  it  will  survive.  It  is  immortal,  like  its 
Lord.  And  these  very  commotions  which  excite  our 
solicitude  for  its  welfare,  will  in  the  end  contribute 
to  its  purity  and  triumph.  For  He  Himself  has  said, 
"  No  weapon  that  is  formed  against  thee  shall  pros- 
per ;  and  every  tongue  that  shall  rise  against  thee  in 
judgment  thou  shalt  condemn."     (Isa.  liv.  17.) 

On  these  two  grounds  we  may  dismiss  our  anx- 
iety— we  may  at  least  try  to  moderate  it — concern- 
ing the  mysteries  of  Providence.  The  Church  and 
the  world  are  in  the  hands  of  the  Redeemer.  And 
to  indulge  the  suspicion  that  He  has  resigned  the 
sceptre  or  become  remiss  in  His  rule,  because  His 
ways  are  not  as  our  ways,  is  to  give  Him  but  too 
much  occasion  to  say  to  us :  "  Have  I  been  so  long 
time  with  you,  and  yet  hast  thou  not  known  me  ?" 

I  pause  here  with  the  single  remark,  that  we  cer- 
tainly ought  to  guard  against  the  error  of  Philip. 
Jesus  Christ  has  given  lis  no  reason  to  distrust  Him, 
either  in  His  being  or  in  His  attributes.  We  have 
proved  His  grace  and  His  power,  His  patience  and 
His  pity,  His  love  and  His  sympathy.  Let  us  not 
wrong  Him  by  questioning  for  an  instant  His  uni- 

27* 


3 1 8      The  Saviour,  a  Stranger  to  His  Friends, 

versal  supremacy,  His  faithfulness  to  His  Church,  or 
His  ability  and  readiness  to  save  all  who  will  come 
to  Him.  Let  us  leave  ourselves  and  our  children, 
our  Church  and  our  country,  in  His  hands  ;  assured 
that  there  and  there  alone  true  peace  and  safety  are 
to  be  found  ;  and  feeling  that  thus,  and  only  thus,  we 
can  elude  the  reproof  from  those  gentle  lips,  "  Have 
I  been  so  long  time  with  you,  and  yet  hast  thou  not 
known  me?" 


CHRIST   GLORIFIED   IN   HIS   PEOPLE. 


John  xvii.  lo. 


"  /  am  glorified  in  thcnir 

In  the  ordinary  Scripture  sense  of  the  term,  to  be 
"  glorified"  is  to  have  one's  character,  works,  or  ways 
so  set  forth  as  to  elicit  adoration  or  praise.  The 
expression  frequently  occurs  in  the  memorable  prayer 
from  which  the  text  is  taken.  The  Saviour,  address- 
ing the  Father,  says,  "  I  have  glorified  Thee  on  the 
earth :  I  have  finished  the  work  which  Thou  gavest 
me  to  do.  And  now,  O  Father,  glorify  Thou  me." 
This  seems  natural,  that  the  Son  should  glorify  the 
Father,  and  the  Father  the  Son.  Recognizing,  as 
we  do,  their  co-equal  rank,  the  sentiment  awakens  in 
our  breasts  no  emotion  of  surprise;  it  is  just  what 
we  should  expect. 

But  the  case  before  us  is  very  different.  "I  am 
glorified  in  them,"  The  "  I"  is  the  Only-begotten  of 
the  Father,  and  the  Brightness  of  His  glory :  the 
Creator  of  the  heavens  and  the  earth  :  the  King  of 

319 


320         Christ  Glorified  in  His  People. 

kings  and  Lord  of  lords :  before  whom  devils  trem- 
ble, and  in  whose  presence  seraphs  veil  their  faces. 
That  so  exalted  a  Being  may  be  glorified  by  the 
angels,  principalities,  and  powers  of  the  celestial 
world,  might  seem  to  us  a  possible  thing.  But  this 
is  very  far  from  being  what  He  says.  "  I  am  glo- 
rified in  thcjn," — "  in  those  whom  Thou  hast  given 
me," — "  the  vioi  which  Thou  gavest  me  out  of  the 
world."  "  Men,"  like  ourselves  :  sinners  of  Adam's 
race :  by  nature  depraved  and  vile :  apostates  and 
rebels:  children  of  wrath :  His  ungrateful  subjects, 
His  enemies,  His  crucifiers.  These  are  they  who 
"glorify"  the  "Lord  of  glory."  The  two  extremes 
meet.  The  Highest  of  all  is  magnified  by  the  lowest 
of  all.  Mere  worms  of  the  dust  invest  with  still 
nobler  splendors  Him  whose  throne  fills. all  heaven 
with  its  effulgence.  Are  you  ready  to  ask,  "  How 
can  these  things  be  ?"  Peradventure  He  may  have 
given  us  a  key  to  the  mystery. 

We  come  at  once  to  the  core  of  this  subject  when 
we  inquire,  whether  more  is  to  be  learned  concerning 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  from  the  history  of  the  angels 
or  from  the  history  of  man.  Our  instincts  would 
point  heavenward.  The  natural  feeling  would  be:  to 
know  what  Christ  is,  we  must  "ascend  up  into  heaven" 
and  survey  His  eternal  dwelling-place.  We  must 
view  all  its  arrangements  and  explore  its  appliances 
of  happiness.     Above  all,  we  must  confer  with  those 


Christ  Glorified  in  His  People.         321 

bright  spirits  who  have  always  dwelt  in  His  presence. 
They  can  tell  us  what  He  is.  Certainly  they  could 
tell  us  many  things  about  the  Son  of  God  which 
we  could  not  learn  elsewhere.  But  it  is  earth,  not 
heaven,  which  has  witnessed  the  complete  revelation 
of  His  perfections.  The  angels  have  learned  more 
respecting  Him  by  coming  to  us,  than  we  could  have 
learned  by  going  to  them.  The  source  and  centre, 
as  He  is,  of  the  light  which  illumines  the  universe, 
that  light  shines  with  its  brightest  radiance  upon  the 
other  worlds,  not  as  it  reaches  them  with  its  direct 
rays,  but  with  its  rays  as  reflected  from  our  obscure 
planet. 

It  is  the  highest  glory  of  a  sinful  creature  that  he 
should  be  so  changed  as  to  bear  the  image  of  God. 
Is  it  an  irreverent  suggestion,  that  the  Mediatorial 
glory  of  the  Redeemer  can  be  seen  in  its  fulness 
only  as  His  image  is  thrown  back  from  the  perfected 
humanity  of  a  ransomed  sinner?  The  proto-martyr 
Abel  was  probably  the  first  sinner  that  ever  entered 
heaven.  Was  there  any  creature  there,  from  Ga- 
briel to  the  lowliest  seraph,  whose  presence  revealed 
so  much  of  Christ's  nature  ?  any  one  around  whom 
they  would  gather  with  so  absorbing  an  interest  ?  any 
one  who  could  tell  them  so  much  that  was  new  and 
strange  to  them  ?  May  we  not  presume  that  Christ 
was  "  glorified"  on  the  entrance  of  the  martyr  into 
heaven,  as  He  had  scarcely  ever  been  before  ?  that 


32  2  Christ  Gloinfied  in  His  People. 

cherubim  and  seraphim  saw  farther  down  into  the 
unfathomable  depths  of  His  nature  that  day,  than 
they  had  ever  done,  or  ever  dreamed  of  doing  ? 
And  was  not  that  the  first  leaf  of  a  volume,  a  mighty 
volume,  of  which  they  have  been  turning  the  leaves 
to  this  day,  every  leaf  reflecting  His  glory? 

To  refer  to  man's  moral  deformity,  is  only  to  exalt 
our  theme.  It  is  because  man  is  what  he  is,  that 
he  becomes  capable  of  so  glorifying  the  Redeemer, 
Had  his  character  been  less  depraved,  and  his  ruin 
less  absolute,  less  honor  would  have  accrued  to  his 
Deliverer.  Nothing  so  much  exalts  the  fame  of  a 
philanthropist  as  to  have  succeeded  in  rescuing  men 
and  women  from  utter  degradation,  and  transforming 
them  into  reputable  members  of  society.  The  depth 
of  their  wretchedness  is  the  measure  of  his  renown. 
In  our  condition  as  a  race  there  are  several  elements 
combined,  to  neutralize  any  one  of  which  must  needs 
demand  a  superhuman  arm.  The  problem  was,  to 
subdue  them  all  not  only,  but  to  replace  them  with 
other  elements  as  alien  from  them  as  life  from  death. 
It  was  not  only  to  liberate  the  helpless,  guilty  captive, 
but  to  bring  him  into  the  fellowship  of  the  blessed, 
and  crown  him  with  imperishable  beauty  and  glory. 
See  what  obstacles  barred  the  way.  A  prisoner, — 
and  Satan,  as  the  god  of  this  world,  held  the  key. 
No  one  could  draw  the  bolt  of  that  door,  who  was 
not  stronger  than  the  mightiest  angel  that  rebelled. 


Christ  Glorified  in  His  People.        323 

And  if  opened,  a  greater  obstacle  remained  :  the  pris- 
oner loved  his  thraldom  too  well  to  come  forth.  He 
would  hug  his  chains  and  spurn  the  offer  of  deliver- 
ance. What  could  be  done  for  a  prisoner  who  pre- 
ferred servitude  to  freedom,  who  regarded  his  jailer 
as  his  friend,  and  his  real  friend  as  his  enemy  ?  Even 
this  was  not  all.  Another  keeper  guarded  the  door, 
and  a  very  different  one  :  inexorable  Justice,  clad  in 
robes  of  light,  and  bearing  the  "  flaming  sword"  with 
which  the  cherubim  "  kept  the  way  of  the  tree  of  life," 
How  to  liberate  a  prisoner  thus  guarded,  must  have 
been  a  problem  too  hard  for  any  created  intelligence 
to  solve.  Not  only  so;  but  no  such  intelligence 
could  have  imagined  that  it  admitted  of  a  solution 
even  by  the  infinitely  wise  Father  of  all.  What  im- 
pression, then,  must  have  been  produced  upon  the 
universe  when  they  saw  the  doors  thrown  wide  open 
and  the  prisoner  released, — Justice  consenting,  Satan 
vanquished,  and  the  poor,  blind,  perverse  slave  ex- 
ulting in  his  new-born  freedom  !  The  "  prisoner" 
did  I  say  ?  Nay,  not  one  prisoner,  but  thousands, — 
millions, — a  throng  which  no  man  can  number,  of  all 
lands  and  all  ages.  Nations  commemorate  the  great 
leaders  who  have  delivered  them  from  oppression, 
and  the  statesmen  who  have  enfranchised  a  subject- 
race.  Such  benefactors  are  "  glorified"  in  the  people 
they  have  ransomed.  But  what  deliverance  may  be 
named   in  comparison  with   that  proclaimed  in  the 


1 24         Christ  Glorified  in  His  People. 


Gospel,  the  impediments  so  vast,  the  enfranchise- 
ment so  complete,  the  cost  so  immeasurable?  Yes, 
the  cost;  this  is  an  essential  part  of  the  "  glory"  that 
accrues  to  our  Deliverer.  When  other  races  see  our 
race  marching  forth  in  long  succession  from  their 
hated  bondage,  they  do  not  overlook  the  price  paid 
for  their  rescue.  There  is  nothing  in  the  spectacle 
which  so  moves  their  wonder,  or  so  inspires  their 
psalms  of  praise,  as  that  the  Son  of  God  should  sac- 
rifice His  own  life  to  save  theirs.  In  every  one  of 
these  redeemed  sinners  they  behold  a  trophy  oi  His 
love,  His  wisdom,  His  power.  And  as  the  revolving 
ages  swell  the  mighty  concourse,  all  heaven  contin- 
ues to  "  glorify"  Him  who  broke  the  chains  from 
such  a  race  and  set  them  free. 

But  more  than  this  is  included  in  the  text.  When 
the  Saviour  says,  "  I  am  glorified  in  them,"  He  must 
refer  as  well  to  their  moral  as  their  legal  deliverance. 
How  a  sinner  can  be  pardoned :  this  was  one  diffi- 
culty. We  have  been  speaking  of  it.  How  a  sin- 
ner can  be  cleansed  from  sin:  this  was  another.  To 
estimate  it,  consider  the  depth,  the  malignity,  the 
universality,  of  human  depravity.  You  need  not  go 
to  the  Bible.  Take  history,  ancient  and  modern,  gen- 
eral and  particular.  Find  the  chapter  which  does 
not  prove  or  illustrate  the  fact  of  man's  moral  ruin. 
Survey  the  neighborhood  in  which  you  dwell.  Re- 
view your  own  life.     Everywhere  you  meet  the  en- 


Christ  Glorified  in  His  People.         325 

signs  of  our  apostasy.  And  if  you  would  compre- 
hend the  Saviour's  work  in  overcoming  it,  consider 
how  successfully  it  has  withstood  all  other  agencies. 
The  world  has  not  lacked  philanthropists  and  re- 
formers. But  what  have  they  accomplished  ?  The 
sages  of  Greece  and  Rome  were  enriched  with  gifts 
which  have  ever  commanded  the  admiration  of  man- 
kind. Could  their  philosophies  cope  with  human  de- 
pravity? From  their  day  to  our  own,  and  eminently 
in  our  own,  sagacious  and  benevolent  men  (ignorant 
of  Christianity)  have  essayed  the  same  task,  and  with 
the  same  result.  Not  a  single  instance  can  be  ad- 
duced of  a  community  or  nation  permanently  rescued 
by  these  teachers  from  the  control  of  vicious  prin- 
ciples, and  imbued  with  the  higher  type  of  virtues; 
not  one,  certainly,  in  which  a  people  have  been 
brought  back  into  their  true  relations  God-ward.  A 
kindred  inefficiency  has  attached  to  the  most  elab- 
orate systems  of  secular  education.  Cabinets  and 
legislatures,  armed  with  all  the  power  of  the  State, 
have  essayed  the  same  task,  and  to  no  better  pur- 
pose. Much  they  have  achieved  in  the  way  of  intel- 
ligence,— restraint, — amelioration.  But  renovation, 
never !  The  world  has  seen  but  one  society  in 
which  the  depravity  of  the  heart  has  been  thor- 
oughly mastered,  and  its  lawless  appetites  and  pas- 
sions replaced  with  holy  affections.  The  Christian 
society,  it  is  true,  exhibits  this  result  only  in  an  im- 

28 


326         Christ  Glorified  in  His  People. 

perfect  degree.  But  with  all  real  believers  the  foun- 
dation is  laid  for  an  entire  and  irreversible  trans- 
formation. The  first  fruits  are  already  apparent. 
They  differ  in  kind  from  anything  that  ever  grew  in 
that  soil  before  under  whatever  culture.  In  place  of 
pride,  there  is  humility:  in  place  of  callousness,  con- 
trition :  in  place  of  selfishness,  benevolence  :  in  place 
of  enmity  to  God,  there  is  supreme  love  to  God  :  in 
place  of  self  righteousness,  a  devout  and  grateful 
trusting  to  the  blood  and  righteousness  of  Christ  as 
a  sinner's  only  hope.  These  are  not  stemless  flowers, 
but  vital  germs,  implanted  by  God's  own  hand, 
guarded  by  His  arm,  nourished  by  His  love,  and 
destined  to  bear  their  full  fruitage  in  His  paradise 
above.  To  see  such  trees  growing  in  profusion  in  a 
soil  from  which  the  accumulated  science  and  skill  of 
centuries  had  never  been  able  to  educe  a  solitary 
living  plant,  must  reflect  high  honor  upon  the  Great 
Husbandman.  Or,  to  lay  aside  the  figure,  to  see 
this  deformed  and  revolting  race  putting  on  raiment 
of  celestial  purity,  and  giving  back,  however  feebly, 
the  lineaments  of  God's  own  image, — what  sight 
more  wonderful  can  fix  the  gaze  of  the  nobler  races 
above  us  ?  And  as  they  are  gathered  home, — a 
glorious  company, — with  that  Divine  likeness  fin- 
ished in  its  every  line  and  feature,  with  what  a  ful- 
ness of  meaning  may  their  Redeemer  say,  "/  aui 
glorified  ill  iJuin"  ! 


Christ  Glorified  in  His  People.         327 


But  there  is  yet  more  of  precious  truth  hidden  in 
this  remarkable  expression.  On  another  occasion 
He  said,  "  Herein  is  my  Father  glorified,  that  j<^  bear 
imich  fruity  This  must  comprehend  no  less  His 
own  glory.  How  amazing  the  condescension  on 
His  part,  how  exalted  the  distinction  conferred  upon 
sinners  of  Adam's  race,  that  He  should  thus  link 
His  glory,  not  simply  with  their  ultimate  triumph 
over  death  and  hell,  but  with  the  humble  offices 
they  pay  Him  from  day  to  day!  "I  am  glorified  in 
them."  They  are  bearing  fruit  now  which  glorifies 
Him.  How  is  this?  The  second  chapter  of  Acts 
describes  how  the  process  began  with  His  disciples ; 
and  it  is  going  on  to  this  day.  When  Peter,  the 
very  apostle  who  had  so  cruelly  denied  Him  the 
night  of  His  arrest,  stood  up  in  the  presence  of  that 
astonished  crowd,  and  preached  Jesus  Christ  and 
Him  crucified  with  such  power  that  three  thousand 
unbelievers  cried  out  as  with  one  voice,  "  Men  and 
brethren,  what  shall  we  do  ?"  was  not  Christ  "  glori- 
fied" alike  in  His  servants  and  in  their  converts? 
And  when  this  multitude  of  renewed  sinners  put  off 
their  Jewish  prejudices,  and  the  innate  pride  and 
selfishness  of  the  human  heart,  and,  yielding  to  the 
gentle  but  irresistible  sway  of  Christian  love,  came 
together,  holding  all  things  common,  parting  to  all 
as  every  man  had  need,  praising  God  and  having 
favor  with  all  the  people, — was  not  this  spectacle,  so 


128         Christ  Glorified  in  His  People. 


new  to  the  world's  experience,  so  inexplicable  to  the 
M'orld's  philosophy,  one  which  magnified  the  name 
of  Jesus?  And  was  not  His  saying  verified  daily  in 
the  history  of  this  community,  "  I  am  glorified  in 
them"? 

The  most  obvious  contemporaneous  examples 
which  offer  themselves  to  our  notice,  are  those  sup- 
plied by  the  Foreign  Missions  of  the  day.  In  vari- 
ous countries  may  be  found  flourishing  churches 
composed  of  converts  from  paganism.  These  con- 
verts are  of  course  still  beset  with  their  natural  in- 
firmities, very  many  of  them  only  "  babes  in  Christ." 
Nevertheless,  they  are  "  new  creatures."  They  are 
no  longer  idolaters  ;  no  longer  the  wretched  slaves 
of  all  manner  of  vices.  They  have  come  out  from 
their  old  associations.  They  are  actuated  by  new 
motives.  They  are  seen  and  known  of  all  men  to 
be  as  unlike  their  former  selves  as  if  they  were  dif- 
ferent persons.  They  are  better,  wiser,  happier,  and 
more  useful  men  and  women  than  had  ever  been 
seen  or  thought  of  among  heathen  nations.  With 
one  accord  they  ascribe  the  transformation  which 
has  passed  over  them  to  the  Gospel  of  Christ. 
Christ's  love  to  them  has  so  enkindled  their  love  to 
Him,  that  this  has  now  become  the  dominant  pas- 
sion of  their  souls.  It  is  gradually  permeating  their 
whole  characters  and  shaping  their  lives.  And  it  is 
their  constant  prayer  and  endeavor  that  their  deluded 


Christ  Glorified  in  His  People.         329 

countrymen  may  be  led  to  Christ  and  share  in  the 
ineffable  blessings  they  have  received.  Do  we  trifle 
when  we  say  that  the  Saviour  is  glorified  in  them  ? 
that  every  tribe  rescued  from  barbarism,  every  church 
that  lifts  its  spire  heavenward  on  pagan  soil,  every 
individual  convert  even,  reflects  the  glory  of  the  Son 
of  God? 

But  we  need  not  go  abroad.  There  is  a  well-de- 
fined line  which  divides  the  populations  of  Christian 
lands  into  two  classes.  We  do  not  claim  that  this 
line  is  precisely  coincident  with  the  boundaries  of 
the  Church:  for  there  is  more  or  less  of  wood,  hay, 
and  stubble  mixed  with  the  gold,  silver,  and  precious 
stones  of  the  Sanctuary.  But  in  general  terms  we 
may  affirm  of  the  Christian  society,  that  it  is  the 
nursery  of  virtues  which  bloom  nowhere  else,  and 
which  are  vital  to  the  well-being  of  mankind.  In 
our  search  for  purity,  for  humility,  for  truth  and  in- 
tegrity, for  benevolence,  for  sympathy  with  all  phi- 
lanthropic plans  and  efforts,  we  turn  intuitively  to 
those  who  bear  the  name  of  Christ.  It  is  to  them 
nations  are  indebted  for  the  elements  which  conserve, 
harmonize,  and  elevate  them.  They  are  the  founders 
and  patrons  of  the  noble  charities  which  are  the  true 
glory  of  any  people, — even  of  those  peoples  who  are 
most  distinguished  in  arts  and  arms.  And  this  vast 
tide  of  goodness  which  flows  in  countless  channels 
through  every  Christian  land,  springs  from  a  single 

28* 


330         Christ  Glorified  vi  His  People. 


source,  the  cross  of  Christ.  Whereinsoever  the  Chris- 
tian population  of  a  country  differ  from  those  who 
are  alien  from  Christianity,  the  contrast  is  to  be  re- 
ferred entirely  to  the  interposition  of  the  Redeemer. 
By  no  inherited  virtue,  by  no  force  of  self-will,  by  no 
mere  human  training,  but  solely  through  the  grace 
and  mercy  of  Christ,  have  they  attained  the  rare 
eminence  which  marks  their  lot.  To  Him  do  they 
ascribe  the  merit.  All  who  witness  the  results 
know  and  feel  that  His  hand  has  wrought  them. 
And  in  this  view,  again,  His  saying  has  its  confirma- 
tion, "  I  am  glorified  in  them." 

Christianity,  however,  is  not  content  to  deal  with 
masses  and  aggregates.  Even  as  in  the  case  of  the 
first  martyr  already  adverted  to,  Christ  will  have  His 
revenue  of  praise  from  every  ransomed  sinner.  Alike 
from  the  prince  and  the  peasant,  from  the  child  and 
the  sage  of  gray  hairs,  from  the  servant  to  whom  He 
has  given  five  talents,  and  the  servants  to  whom  He 
has  given  one,  He  expects  not  only,  but  actually 
receives,  His  measure  of  glory.  If  He  deems  the 
giving  of  a  cup  of  water  to  one  of  His  disciples 
worthy  of  a  reward,  there  can  be  no  trivial  act  per- 
formed in  the  spirit  of  a  loving  disciple,  which  He 
may  not  make  subservient  to  His  own  glory.  Let 
this  be  for  the  encouragement  of  those  who  are 
endowed  with  but  slender  gifts;  of  those  who  are 
shut  up  to  an  obscure  situation ;  of  those  whose  life 


Christ  Glorified  in  His  People.         331 

is  an  incessant  struggle  for  their  daily  bread.  The 
one  thing  needful  is  not  superior  talents,  nor  station, 
nor  the  opportunity  of  achieving  great  objects,  but 
love  to  Christ  and  fidelity  to  His  service.  Make  sure 
of  this,  and  He  will  insure  the  rest.  Exemplify  this, 
and  He  will  so  link  His  name  with  your  unobtrusive 
virtues  and  your  tranquil  life,  that  He  will  say  of  you, 
no  less  than  of  those  to  whom  He  assigns  the  high 
places  of  His  Church,  "  I  am  glorified  in  them." 

And  if  by  action,  still  more  by  passion.  If  the 
labors  of  His  disciples  glorify  Him,  how  much  more 
their  sufferings !  To  labor  in  such  a  cause  and  with 
such  surroundings,  is  counter  to  nature.  It  implies 
a  new  and  very  different  nature,  one  which  God 
alone  can  confer.  But  to  suffer, — patiently — submis- 
sively— cheerfully, — this  bespeaks  yet  moi'C  emphati- 
cally the  presence  and  power  of  His  grace.  When 
the  apostles  had  been  rebuked  by  the  Sanhedrim, 
they  went  forth  "  rejoicing  that  they  were  counted 
worthy  to  suffer  shame  for  His  name."  St.  Paul 
gloried  in  his  persecutions  and  afflictions,  not  be- 
cause he  loved  pain  and  trouble,  but  that  the  power 
of  Christ  might  rest  .upon  him.  One  cannot  con- 
template a  single  example  of  patient  suffering  in 
the  history  of  the  apostolic  Church,  or  among  "  the 
noble  army  of  martyrs,"  without  feeling  how  liter- 
ally the  Saviour's  words  were  verified,  "  I  am  glorified 
in  them." 


Christ  Glorified  in  His  People. 


Nor  this  alone.  It  is  the  allotment  of  the  few  to 
be  apostles  or  martyrs.  But  it  is  the  common  lot  to 
suffer,  and  the  common  privilege  of  believers  to 
"  glorify  God  in  the  fires."  On  every  side  there 
are  disciples  struggling  with  poverty, — bowed  down 
under  reverses  —  prostrated  with  disease  —  smitten 
with  sore  bereavements, — whose  trials  only  bring 
into  brighter  relief  the  lineaments  of  their  Master's 
image.  We  could  not,  if  we  would,  dissociate  the 
heavenly  temper  with  which  they  bear  these  suffer- 
ings, from  its  Divine  Source.  To  every  beholder 
it  speaks  of  His  love  and  faithfulness.  There  needs 
no  voice  from  heaven  to  say,  "  I  am  glorified  in 
them."  For  everything  pertaining  to  a  spectacle  of 
this  sort  reflects  His  glory. 

And  if  this  be  so  with  other  scenes  of  suffering, 
how  much  more  with  the  last  scene !  The  Gospel 
of  Christ  apart,  there  is  that  in  the  fearful  inequality 
of  the  contestants  which  may  well  appall  the  stoutest 
heart ;  which,  indeed,  leaves  no  room  even  for  hope. 
What  can  man  do  in  a  conflict  with  death  ?  The 
strongest  and  the  weakest — the  warrior  and  the 
babe — sink  to  a  common  level  here.  From  the 
beginning  of  the  world  it  has  had  but  one  issue, 
— and  can  have  no  other.  Out  of  Christ,  the  sin- 
ner— any  sinner — is  in  the  hands  of  death,  like  tow 
in  the  fire.  But  to  the  sinner  in  Christ,  the  issue 
is   reversed.      It  is  no   longfer  Death  that   is   invin- 


Christ  Glorified  in  His  People.         333 

cible,  but  the  dying  believer.  Out  of  Christ,  the 
soul  is  always  vanquished.  In  Christ,  it  always 
triumphs. 

It  is  perhaps  the  occasion  which,  beyond  any 
other,  brings  home  to  our  sensibilities  the  sentiment, 
"  I  am  glorified  in  them."  We  have  all  seen  it — the 
death-bed  of  the  believer.  We  have  watched  the 
slow  decay  and  the  waning  convulsions  of  nature. 
We  have  stood  with  trembling  as  the  lamp  of  life 
flickered  in  the  socket.  And  we  have  seen  how  the 
loved  and  cherished  invalid  was  the  only  calm  and 
peaceful  and  tearless  one  of  the  group;  how  sweetly 
resigned  to  the  Father's  will ;  how  ready  to  let  go 
the  tenderest  ties  of  earth  ;  how  serene  in  the  approach 
of  the  destroyer;  how  willing  to  depart  and  be  with 
Christ ;  how  manifestly  breathing  the  air  already 
of  the  very  suburbs  of  heaven.  These  are  familiar 
experiences,  and  the  one  thought  they  suggest,  is  the 
thought  that  fills  the  whole  mind  and  soul  of  the  de- 
parting saint,  the  thought  of  Christ.  His  grace — 
His  love — His  faithfulness — His  sympathy  :  no  one 
thinks  of  aught  else.  The  victory  we  are  witnessing 
over  death  is  His  victory.  And  all  the  more  mar- 
vellous does  it  appear  that  it  should  be  achieved  by 
a  poor,  helpless  sinner,  who,  left  to  himself,  could 
not  have  sustained  the  unequal  strife  for  a  single 
moment.  With  what  a  fulness  of  meaning  may  the 
Saviour  say,  in  view  of  the  millions  who  overcome 


334         Christ  Glorified  in  His  People. 

the  last  Enemy  by  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  "  I  am 
glorified  in  them"  ! 

We  close  as  we  began,  with  a  glance  at  the  future 
of  the  ransomed.  If  Christ  be  glorified  in  His  people 
here,  how  much  more  zvhen  tJiey  shall  all  be  gath- 
ered into  His  presence  at  the  last  day,  and  throughout 
eternity  I 

It  is  not  given  us  even  to  conceive  of  that  scene 
when  the  Son  of  man  shall  come  to  present  His 
Church  to  Himself,  a  glorious  Church.  Let  it  suf- 
fice that  of  that  illimitable  throng  which  no  man  can 
number,  every  one  will  have  been  washed  in  His 
blood  and  renewed  in  His  image.  From  every 
sphere  angelic  hosts  hasten  to  assist  at  the  august 
nuptials  of  their  Lord  with  His  affianced  Bride,  the 
Church.  Their  glory  pales  before  that  which  en- 
folds licr, — the  strange,  surpassing  glory  of  a  holiness 
no  less  immaculate,  and  a  righteousness  more  noble 
than  their  own.  Whatever  confirmation  the  senti- 
ment may  have  received  before,  this  spectacle  must 
ravish  all  heaven  with  the  feeling,  "  I  am  glorified  in 
them!'  Contemplated  in  its  relations  to  Him,  it 
savors  of  "  an  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of 
glory,"  too  vast  and  too  sublime  to  be  compassed 
by  any  except  the  Infinite  Intelligence.  Yes,  "  an 
eternal  weight  of  glory ;"  for  it  will  continue  through- 
out eternity  to  reflect  the  glories  of  our  Immanuel. 

Not  to  pursue  this  theme,  what  honor  has   the 


Christ  Glorified  m  His  People.         335 

Redeemer  put  upon  our  race,  in  thus  employing  our 
poor  services  and  sufferings  to  exalt  His  own  glory ! 
What  dignity  does  this  thought  impart  to  the  Chris- 
tian character !  With  what  sacredness  does  it  invest 
the  Christian  life  !  How  infinite  His  condescension  ! 
how  deep  and  tender  His  love  to  our  poor  race  ! 
that  He  should  put  it  in  the  power  of  miserable  sin- 
ners like  ourselves  to  augment,  by  however  slight  a 
degree,  the  effulgence  of  His  "  many  crowns,"  and 
make  Him  appear  yet  more  glorious  before  an 
adoring  universe.  Is  not  this  a  motive  to  Christian 
fidelity  to  which  every  heart  must  respond?  Can  we 
requite  the  boundless  mercy  of  our  great  Benefactor 
with  less  than  the  willing,  undivided  homage  of  our 
hearts  and  lives?  And  shall  we  not  accept  with 
loving,  joyful,,  gratitude,  the  privilege  of  once  more 
commemorating  the  atoning  death  of  Him  who  hath 
so  loved  us  ? 


THE   ANNUNCIATION. 


Luke  i.  28. 


''Hail,  tliou  that  art  JdgJily  favored,  the  Lord  is  zvitli 
thee :  blessed  art  thou  among  luovicnr 

We  have  been  accustomed  to  confer  together  at 
this  season  of  the  year,  about  the  advent  of  our  Lord. 
I  propose  now  to  speak  to  you  of  His  Mother,  the 
blessed  Virgin.  Whatever  pertains  to  her  character 
and  life  will  be  sure  of  ready  audience.  By  how 
much  we  revolt  at  the  Divine  homage  which  is  paid 
her  by  millions  of  deluded  worshippers,  by  so  much 
are  we  disposed  to  render  her  that  affectionate  and 
grateful  veneration  which  is  due  to  her  from  all  man- 
kind. There  can  be  no  one  here  who  does  not  in- 
stinctively take  up  and  repeat  the  angelic  benediction, 
"  Blessed  art  thou  among  women  !"  It  is  one  of  our 
regrets,  as  we  turn  over  the  pages  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, that  they  supply  us  with  such  scant  information 
concerning  her,  A  reason  for  this  may,  perhaps,  be 
suggested  when  we  consider  the  tendency  of  the 
33'3 


The  Annunciation,  337 

world,  now  so  fully  developed,  to  deify  her.  Super- 
stition, however,  has,  with  characteristic  perverse- 
ness,  availed  itself  of  the  silence  of  Scripture,  to 
frame  a  tolerably  complete  biography  of  Mary,  purely 
its  own  invention.  Not  to  go  far  into  details,  ac- 
cording to  the  apocryphal  Gospels,  her  parents  were 
named  Joachim  and  Anna,  and  were  both  of  the 
race  of  David.  At  nine  months  of  age  she  walked 
nine  steps.  When  three  years  old,  her  parents  hav- 
ing brought  her  to  the  temple,  "  the  high-priest 
placed  her  upon  the  third  step  of  the  altar,  and  she 
danced,  and  all  the  house  of  Israel  loved  her."  She 
remained  at  the  temple  until  she  was  fourteen  years 
old,  ministered  to  by  the  angels.  In  due  time  she 
was  betrothed  to  Joseph.  The  birth  of  her  infant 
was  signalized  by  a  sort  of  solemn  pause  in  both  ani- 
mate and  inanimate  nature.  As  Joseph  went  out  of 
the  cave  at  Bethlehem  into  which  he  had  led  her, 
"  he  looked  up  and  saw  the  clouds  astonished  and  all 
creatures  amazed.  The  fowls  stopped  in  their  flight; 
the  working  people  sat  at  their  food,  but  did  not  eat; 
the  sheep  stood  still ;  the  shepherds'  lifted  hands  be- 
came fixed  ;  the  kids  were  touching  the  water  with 
their  mouths,  but  did  not  drink."  "  For  her  unbelief 
as  to  the  birth  of  the  child,  Salome's  hand  withered  ; 
but,  being  instructed  by  an  angel,  she  touched  the 
infant  and  was  cured." 

Such  is  a  specimen  of  the  fables  which   make   up 
29 


2,2,3  The  Annunciation. 

the  spurious  "  Gospel  of  the  Birth  of  Mary"  and  the 
"  Protevangeh'on."  Those  which  precede  her  intro- 
duction to  us  in  the  New  Testament,  are  greatly  ex- 
ceeded in  number  and  extravagance  by  those  which 
pertain  to  her  later  history.  It  is  refreshing  to  turn 
from  these  fictitious  legends  to  the  simple  narrative 
of  the  Evangelists.  What  we  really  know  of  her 
may  be  summed  up  in  a  few  words.  But  I  do  not 
purpose  at  present  to  go  beyond  the  Annunciation. 

Of  her  name, — the  sweetest  of  all  female  names, — 
it  is  sufficient  to  say  that  it  is  the  same  as  Miidam  ; 
and  that  in  the  original  Greek,  when  applied  to  the 
Virgin,  it  is  always  written  Mariam  [Mapid;))]  while  the 
form  Maria  {Mapra)  is  observed  in  referring  to  the 
other  Marys.  It  must  be  deemed  remarkable  that 
we  know  nothing  of  her  parents, — not  even  the  name 
of  her  mother,  and,  not  with  certainty,  her  father's 
name.  This  latter  point  depends  upon  the  view 
which  is  taken  of  the  two  Genealogies  of  Matthew 
and  Luke.  Biblical  scholars  have  always  been  di- 
vided on  the  questions  growing  out  of  these  tables. 
Very  eminent  authorities  may  be  cited  in  support  of 
the  idea  that  both  the  tables  pertain  exclusively  to 
Joseph.  On  this  view  wc  have,  in  Matthew,  Jo- 
seph's genealogy  as  legal  successor  to  the  throne  of 
David, — the  names  of  the  successive  heirs  of  the 
kingdom,  ending  with  Christ,  as  Joseph's  reputed 
Son.     While  the  table   in  Luke  is  Joseph's  private 


The  Annunciation.  339 

genealogy,  exhibiting  his  real  birth  as  David's  Son, 
and  thus  showing  why  He  was  heir  to  Solomon's 
crown.  This  theory  does  not  preclude  the  idea  of 
Mar}''s  descent  from  David,  although  the  Scriptures 
do  not  mention  the  fact.  On  the  other  hand,  schol- 
ars of  equal  rank  regard  Matthew's  genealogy  as 
that  of  Joseph,  and  Luke's  as  that  of  Mary,  She 
was  the  daughter  of  Heli.  But,  as  these  tables  were 
usually  confined  to  males,  Joseph  is  mentioned  as 
the  "  son  of  Heli,"  being  really  his  son-in-law.  There 
is  strong  ground  for  accepting  this  view  of  St.  Luke's 
table.  But,  apart  from  his  record,  we  have  ample 
warrant  for  believing  that  Mary  was  of  the  royal  line 
of  David.  "  The  Son  of  David"  was  a  familiar  ap- 
pellation of  her  son.  And  if  she  had  not  been  of 
that  stock  her  adversaries  might  easily  have  shown 
it  by  pointing  out  her  parentage.  But  all  doubt  is 
precluded  by  the  fact  that  His  descent  from  David 
was  distinctly  affirmed  by  the  angel :  "  The  Lord 
God  shall  give  unto  Him  the  throne  of  His  father 
David."  This  proves  that  Mary  must  have  been  of 
"  the  seed  royal." 

Our  narrative  commences  thus  :  "  And  in  the  sixth 
month  the  angel  Gabriel  was  sent  from  God  unto  a 
city  of  Galilee,  named  Nazareth,  to  a  virgin  espoused 
to  a  man  whose  name  was  Joseph,  of  the  house  of 
David ;  and  the  virgin's  name  was  Mary.  And  the 
angel  came  in  unto  her,  and  said,  Hail,  thou  that  art 


340  The  Annunciation. 

highly  favored,  the  Lord  is  with  thee :  Blessed  art 
thou  among  women."  Very  apt  is  the  comment  of 
a  modern  writer :  "The  high  rank  of  the  ambassa- 
dor evinced  the  grandeur  and  importance  of  the  mis- 
sion with  which  he  was  charged.  The  angels  knew  it : 
they  knew  that  it  affected  deeply  the  most  essential 
interests  of  the  race  of  man,  not  only  in  time  but  in 
eternity.  But  to  man  himself,  seeing  only  its  outer 
aspect,  the  immediate  result  would  have  seemed  in- 
adequate and  disappointing.  He  went  not  to  any  of 
the  great  nations  of  the  earth.  He  visited  not  any 
of  her  mighty  cities, — not  Rome,  not  Athens,  not 
Alexandria,  not  Antioch,  nor  even  Jerusalem.  His 
mission  was  to  a  small  and  dependent  country, — to 
the  most  despised  province  of  that  country, — to  the 
most  ill- reputed  town  of  that  province.  Aye,  but 
surely  some  great  king  had  his  sojourn  there,  or 
some  great  prophet,  or  some  holy  priest,  or  some 
sage  renowed  for  wisdom  ?  Not  so.  His  mission 
was  to  one  of  the  humblest  abodes  of  that  humble 
place ;  and  neither  to  prince,  to  prophet,  to  priest, 
nor  to  philosopher ;  but  to  a  poor  maiden  of  Naza- 
reth, named  Mary,  betrothed  to  a  carpenter  named 
Joseph."* 

Rarely  has  our  globe  been  the  theatre  of  an  inter- 
view  so   remarkable   as   that  which  is   described  in 

*  Kitto. 


The  Annunciation.  341 

this  passage.  Here  is  a  Jewish  maiden  at  her  own 
secluded  home.  Of  her  appearance  we  can  affirm 
nothing,  since  the  Scriptures  are  silent  on  the  point. 
But  we  all  have  an  intuitive  conviction  that  she  was 
endowed  with  every  personal  grace  and  beauty.  We 
need  no  revelation  to  assure  us  that  she  carried 
about  with  her  the  charms  of  an  inexpressible  loveli- 
ness. Still  less  are  we  in  doubt  as  to  her  character. 
The  noble  blood  which  linked  her  with  the  house  of 
David,  was  fitly  blended  with  a  piety  which  already 
united  her  with  David's  greater  Son.  She  was  of 
that  chosen  i^^  who,  like  the  venerable  Simeon  and 
Anna,  were  "  waiting  for  the  Consolation  of  Israel." 
Familiar  with  the  prophecies,  she  would  often  ponder 
those  predictions  which  heralded  the  coming  Deliv- 
erer as  "  a  rod  out  of  the  stem  of  Jesse,"  and  as  the 
son  of  a  "  Virgin"  mother.  But  there  is  no  evidence 
that  her  nation  expected  a  Divine  Messiah,  And 
while  Mary  knew  that  He  was  to  be  of  the  same 
regal  line  with  herself,  it  would  be  going  very  far  to 
presume  that  she,  or  any  of  her  countrymen,  had  an 
accurate  idea  of  what  was  intended  by  His  being 
born  of  a  virgin.  Still,  as  the  period  of  His  advent 
was  known  to  be  near,  her  sympathies  and  studies 
and  prayers  would  cluster  especially  around  these 
prophecies.  Nor  do  we  draw  unduly  upon  the  im- 
agination if  we  suppose  that  she  may  have  been,  at 
this   very   moment,   engaged    in    devout    meditation 

29* 


342  The  Anntmciation. 

upon  this  subject.  Withdrawn  from  all  human  eyes, 
alone  in  the  little  room  of  her  father's  humble  mansion, 
which  had  become  her  sanctuary,  as  she  waits  upon 
God,  there  suddenly  stands  before  her  a  human 
form.  "  Human,"  I  say,  for  thus  the  angels  usually 
appeared  in  their  visits  to  individuals.  In  any  coun- 
try such  an  occurrence  would  be  sufficiently  embar- 
rassing ;  but  peculiarly  so  in  the  East,  where  the 
social  intercourse  of  the  sexes  is  fettered  with  many 
restrictions.  While  Gabriel's  aspect  was  that  of  a 
man,  there  was  doubtless  something  about  him 
which  either  conveyed  to  her  mind  an  intimation  of 
his  superior  rank,  or  at  least  served  to  tranquillize 
her  as  he  spoke.  But  his  strange  words  deeply 
agitated  her.  "  Hail,  thou  that  art  highly  favored; 
the  Lord  is  with  thee :  Blessed  art  thou  among 
women  !" 

This  greeting  forms  the  first  part  of  the  Ave 
Maria  of  the  Romish  Church :  "  Hail  Mary,  full  of 
grace,  the  Lord  is  with  thee."  The  second  part  is 
taken  from  the  address  of  Elizabeth  to  Mary  (v.  42) : 
"  Blessed  art  thou  among  women,  and  blessed  is  the 
fruit  of  thy  womb,  Jesus."  In  the  beginning  of  the 
sixteenth  century  (1508)  that  Church  added  the  re- 
maining sentence,  which  is  an  idolatrous  invocation 
of  the  Virgin  :  "  Holy  Mary,  Mother  of  God,  pray 
for  us  sinners  now  and  at  the  hour  of  our  death. 
Amen." 


The  Annunciation.  343 

In  the  first  clause,  the  expression  "  full  of  grace" 
has  served  as  a  foundation  for  their  theory  that  "she 
had  all  the  seven  gifts  of  the  Spirit,  and  all  the  theo- 
logical and  moral  virtues,  and  such  a  fulness  of  the 
graces  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  as  none  ever  had  the  like." 
But  the  theory  rests  upon  a  mis-translation,  and  is 
without  warrant.  The  term  rendered  "  full  of  grace" 
is,  in  our  version,  "  highly-favored,"  which  is  no 
doubt  its  meaning  also  in  Eph.  i.  6,  the  only  other 
place  in  the  New  Testament  where  it  is  found  :  "  hath 
made  its  accepted  in  the  beloved," — i.e.,  "  hath  caused 
us  to  be  highly  favored,  to  receive  Divine  favor  or 
grace  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  There  are  so  very 
few  words  in  the  sacred  narrative  which  can  be  tor- 
tured into  the  support  of  the  sinful  worship  they  pay 
the  Virgin,  that  the  attempt  to  wrest  this  term  from 
its  proper  signification  can  excite  no  surprise. 

We  read  without  marvel,  that  when  Mary  "saw 
him  she  was  troubled  at  his  saying,  and  cast  in  her 
mind  what  manner  of  salvation  this  should  be."  The 
address  which  followed — the  like  of  which  had  never 
fallen,  and  will  never  fall,  upon  mortal  ears — would 
not  allay  her  amazement.  "Fear  not,  Mary:  for 
thou  hast  found  favor  with  God.  And,  behold,  thou 
shalt  conceive  in  thy  womb,  and  bring  forth  a  Son, 
and  shalt  call  His  name  Jesus.  He  shall  be  great, 
and  shall  be  called  the  Son  of  the  Highest:  and  the 
Lord  God  shall  give  unto  Him  the  throne  of  His 


344  Tf^^  Atinunciatio7t. 

father  David :  and  He  shall  reign  over  the  house  of 
David  forever;  and  of  His  kingdom  there  shall  be 
no  end."  Perplexed  and  astonished  beyond  measure, 
the  maiden,  as  if  rather  musing  than  asking  a  ques- 
tion, exclaims,  ''Hoiv  shall  this  be?"  To  which  Ga- 
briel :  "  The  Holy  Ghost  shall  come  upon  thee,  and 
the  power  of  the  Highest  shall  overshadow  thee : 
therefore  also  that  Holy  Thing  which  shall  be  born 
of  thee  shall  be  called  the  Son  of  God."  With  inim- 
itable grace,  modesty,  and  sweetness  does  she  reply, 
"  Behold  the  handmaid  of  the  Lord ;  be  it  unto  me 
according  to  thy  word." 

Looking  at  this  transaction  still  in  its  personal 
bearings,  we  are  none  of  us,  perhaps,  in  the  habit  of 
dwelling  upon  the  ordeal  to  which  Mary  was  sub- 
jected. The  sanctity  of  the  conjugal  relation  among 
the  Hebrews  was  one  of  the  points  which  distin- 
guished them  from  all  other  nations.  The  provisions 
of  their  Divine  code  respecting  bctrotJicd  females 
were  extremely  rigorous :  the  penalty  they  incurred 
by  transgression  was  that  of  being  "stoned  to  death." 
What,  then,  with  Mary's  gentleness  and  refinement, 
and  her  reputation  for  eminent  piety  on  the  one 
hand,  and,  on  the  other,  the  shock  likely  to  be  in- 
flicted upon  Joseph  (and  which  actually  followed), 
with  the  prospect  of  her  public  shame  and  an 
ignominious  death,  one  may  frame  some  concep- 
tion of  the  tumult  of  feeling  which  would  agitate 


The  Annunciation.  345 

her  breast  on  listening  to  the  mysterious  commu- 
nication of  the  angel.  A  most  convincing  illus- 
tration it  is  of  the  strength  of  her  faith  that  the  con- 
flict with  her  fears  was  so  brief.  Should  we  not 
rather  admire  herein  the  fulness  and  power  of  that 
grace  which  went  along  with  the  angelic  message; 
which  lifted  her  above  the  suggestions  of  flesh  and 
blood,  even  up  to  the  height  of  that  sublime  utter- 
ance, "  Behold  the  handmaid  of  the  Lord  ;  be  it  unto 
me  according  to  thy  word  !" 

Joseph,  as  we  find,  had  his  conflict  too.  The  de- 
cision to  which  he  came,  to  put  Mary  away  "privily," 
is  tacitly  commended  by  the  Evangelist.  But  the 
angel  comes  to  him  in  turn  and  averts  even  this 
trial,  by  revealing  to  him  the  wondrous  dealings  of 
God  with  her. 

And  this  suggests  the  inquiry  why  it  was  pre- 
determined that  the  Messiah  should  be  born  of  a 
betrothed  virgin.  We  do  not  know.  But  it  would 
seem  that  this  arrangement  may  have  been  designed 
to  shield  her  own  name  from  reproach,  and  to  secure 
for  herself  and  her  child  a  competent  protector  (wit- 
ness their  early  flight  to  Egypt);  while  it  also  pro- 
vided for  her  Son  "  a  foster-father,  who,  as  heir  to 
the  throne  of  David,  would  give  to  his  adopted  son 
the  legal  rights  to  the  same  dignity."  It  is,  indeed, 
apparent  that  her  espousal  to  Joseph  relieved  the 
mysterious    transaction   of  many   embarrassing    cir- 


34^  The  Annunciation. 

cumstances  which  must  have  attended  the  Saviour's 
nativity  if  born  of  an  unaffianced  mother. 

The  angel  had  apprised  her  that  her  Son  was  to 
bear  such  titles  as  "  Jesus,"  and  "  The  Son  of  the 
Highest,"  and  that  He  was  to  sit  on  the  throne  of 
David.  She  could  not  fail  to  gather  from  these  par- 
ticulars that  He  was  destined  to  very  exalted  honors, 
and  would  wield  a  sceptre  of  more  than  imperial 
power.  But  it  is  evident  that  she  did  not  compre- 
hend the  full  import  of  these  expressyans.  Nor  was  it 
designed  that  she  should.  "  It  is  worthy  of  remark 
that  the  proper  Divinity  of  her  Son  was  not  revealed 
to  Mary :  otherwise,  neither  she  nor  Joseph  could 
have  been  in  a  position  to  bring  up  the  child :  for 
the  submission  which  was  a  necessary  condition  of 
His  humanity  would  have  been  submission  only  in 
appearance.  But  this  promise,  while  it  by  no  means 
abolished  the  parental  relationship,  would  yet  direct 
the  reverential  attention  of  the  parents  toward  the 
child.  From  the  very  beginning  of  our  Lord's  in- 
carnation we  see  that  the  knowledge  of  His  Divinity 
was  not  to  be  communicated  in  an  external  and 
awe-inspiring  manner;  but  to  be  gradually  mani- 
fested by  His  humanity  and  His  work  of  redemp- 
tion."* 

We  may  go  a  step  further.     Not  only  did  Mary 

*  Von  Gerlach  ap.  Lange. 


The  Annunciation.  347 

miss  the  full  meaning  of  the  angel's  address  at  the 
time,  but  she  lived  with  her  Son  for  thirty  years  (so 
it  would  seem)  without  that  plenary  knowledge  of 
His  Divine  nature  and  rank  which  belongs  to  the 
very  elements  of  our  faith.  How  far  or  in  what 
ways  His  Deity  may  have  disclosed  itself  during 
this  long  period  we  do  not  know.  The  last  view  we 
have  of  Him  as  a  child  of  twelve  years  old,  gives 
assurance  that  during  the  eighteen  years  for  which  He 
then  vanishes  from  our  sight  there  must  have  been 
very  much  in  His  daily  life  to  excite  the  wonder  of 
His  family.  These  things  His  mother  (of  all  per- 
sons) would  keep  and  ponder  them  in  her  heart. 
But  when  at  length  the  period  came  for  His  inain- 
festation  to  Israel,  He  appears  to  have  been  even  to 
her  as  incomprehensible  a  being  as  ever.  This  is 
apparent  from  several  incidents,  among  which  we 
can  only  mention  here  her  address  to  Him  at  the 
marriage  festival  in  Cana,  and  her  attempt  to  speak 
with  Him  when  He  was  one  day  addressing  a  crowd 
of  people.  Had  she  knozvii,  as  she  knew  afterwards, 
and  as  we  know,  just  who  and  what  He  was,  these 
passages  in  her  life  had  not  occurred.  Nor  are  they 
cited  here  in  the  way  of  censure.  The  latter  inci- 
dent adverted  to,  is  the  only  occasion  on  which 
she  tried  to  interfere  with  His  arrangements:  and  it 
was  prompted  by  a  mother's  tenderness,  which  only 
endears  her  to  our  hearts.     Still,  it  shows  that  even 


34^  The  Annu7tciatio7i. 


Mary  had  not  yet  soared  to  the  full  conception  of 
the  honor  which  God  had  put  upon  her. 

In  this  connection  one  would  like  to  ask,  did  the 
Holy  child  Himself  have  from  the  beginning,  this 
absolute  knowledge  of  His  own  Divinity?  Was  the 
fact  from  which  His  mother's  eyes  were  holden,  re- 
vealed to  His  own  consciousness  from  the  first  mo- 
ment of  His  life?  No  one  but  God  can  answer  this 
question.  But  we  may  say,  as  bearing  upon  the 
point,  that  Jesus  was  "  very  man."  He  had  a  soul 
and  body,  like  any  other  man.  His  human  nature 
was  complete  in  itself  It  began  with  infancy.  It 
was  capable  of  growth.  It  did  grow  both  physically 
and  mentally.  All  the  while,  from  the  moment  of 
conception,  the  Divine  nature  was  united  inseparably 
with  it.  Was  His  humanity  conscious  of  being  thus 
interpenetrated  with  the  Divinity  when  He  hung 
upon  His  mother's  bosom, — when  she  gave  Him  His 
first  lessons  in  talking  and  walking, — when  she  took 
Him  by  the  hand  and  led  Him  forth  to  look  upon 
the  fields  and  the  hills  and  the  starry  heavens  ? 
Did  He  then  knotv  that  these  were  His  oivn  haiidi- 
tvork?  Or  did  this  consciousness  come  to  Him 
gradually?  Was  it  (as  has  been  surmised)  first 
awakened  by  observing  the  fact  that  He  was  Jioly, 
while  all  other  men  were  sinful?  And  did  this 
germ  ripen  into  maturity  about  the  period  when  He 
met  the  learned  doctors  in   the  temple?     Or  did  it 


The  Annunciation.  349 

require  those  thirty  years  to  bring  it  to  its  consum- 
mation ?  No  one  expects  these  questions  to  be  an- 
swered. They  pertain  to  the  "  great  mystery  of 
godliness,  God  manifest  in  the  flesh."  It  may,  per- 
haps, be  as  much  a  mystery  to  us  hereafter  as  it  is 
now.  There  seems  shght  ground  to  believe  that  we 
shall  ever  understand  the  union  of  the  Divine  and 
human  in  the  Person  of  our  Lord.  But  one  may  be 
allowed  to  meditate — so  it  be  done  reverently — 
upon  points  which  our  revelation  has  passed  by  in 
silence. 

In  reference  to  the  miraculous  conception,  it  may 
seem  remarkable  that  so  wonderful  an  event  should 
not  be  dwelt  upon  in  the  New  Testament.  This 
circumstance  has  not  escaped  the  animadversion 
of  hostile  critics.  But  in  truth  the  silence  of  the 
parties  chiefly  interested  is  in  keeping  with  the 
whole  spirit  of  the  transaction.  Neither  Mary  nor 
Joseph,  nor  Jesus  Himself,  so  far  as  we  know,  men- 
tioned the  facts.  Why  should  they?  What  was  to 
be  gained  by  it  among  that  perverse  generation 
but  fresh  reproaches  and  insults?  Mary,  especially, 
would  have  drawn  upon  herself  a  torrent  of  merci- 
less invective,  which  might  have  crushed  her  gentle 
nature.  And  the  enemies  of  Christ  would  have 
found  in  it  a  further  stimulus  to  their  malevolent 
abuse  of  Him.  Is  it  strange  they  should  have 
locked  up  the  secret  in  their  own  breasts?     So  care- 


350  The  Annunciation. 


fully  was  it  guarded,  that  they  appear  not  to  have 
confided  it  even  to  their  own  immediate  relatives. 
Mary  herself,  on  one  occasion,  spoke  of  Joseph  as 
His  father:  "Thy  father  and  I  have  sought  Thee 
sorrowing."  And  His  "  brethren  did  not  believe  on 
Him."  When  St.  Paul  was  taken  up  into  heaven, 
he  saw  and  heard  what  he  was  not  allowed  to  utter 
on  his  return  to  earth.  Whether  a  similar  reticence 
was  imposed  upon  Mary  during  the  Saviour's  life 
we  are  not  informed.  But  delicacy  and  prudence 
would  prompt  to  this  course,  irrespective  of  any  pro- 
hibition. All  arguments  of  this  sort  would  be  an- 
nulled by  His  resurrection.  After  that,  she  would  be 
likely  to  speak  of  the  facts  to  St.  John  and  others. 
And  when  the  Gospels  were  to  be  written,  two  of  the 
Evangelists  were  inspired  to  put  them  on  record  for 
the  faith  and  comfort  of  the  Church  in  all  coming 
time. 

The  fact  of  the  Incarnation  is  the  most  wonderful 
event  (the  crucifixion  itself  scarcely  excepted)  in  the 
history  of  our  world.  It  "  passeth  knowledge,"  as 
was  just  hinted,  viewed  as  a  union  of  the  Divine  and 
human  natures,  and  not  less  in  respect  to  the  man- 
ner of  its  occurrence.  That  there  was  a  moral  ne- 
cessity for  it  we  are  entitled  to  believe  from  the  fact 
itself  Its  pre-eminent  suitableness  to  the  ends  to 
be  accomplished  by  it,  must  be  apparent  even  to  a 
superficial  observer. 


The  Annunciation.  351 


It  was  expedient  that  our  Redeemer  should  be 
God,  because  the  obstacles  in  the  way  of  man's  sal- 
vation could  be  removed  only  by  an  Almighty  arm. 
Satan  and  his  hosts  were  to  be  vanquished,  and  an 
atonement  was  to  be  made  for  sin  which  should  be 
impressed  with  an  infinite  value.  Further,  it  seemed 
congruous  to  the  glorious  excellency  of  the  Su- 
preme Being,  that  the  Redemption  of  our  race 
should  be  achieved  in  some  method  adapted  to  un- 
veil His  adorable  perfections  to  the  universe,  as  had 
never  been  done  before. 

That  the  Redeemer  should  also  be  man,  was  re- 
quired by  the  fundamental  principle  of  substitution, 
upon  which  the  purpose  of  Divine  mercy  rested. 
The  law  could  not  be  dishonored  :  not  one  jot  or 
tittle  must  pass  away  till  all  had  been  fulfilled.  Pre- 
cept and  penalty  must  be  satisfied.  This  could  not 
be  by  any  other  nature  than  that  which  had  sinned. 
An  angel  could  not  become  the  vicar  and  surety  of 
man.  Had  Christ's  mission  been  to  the  lost  angels. 
He  would  have  taken  upon  Himself  the  nature  of 
angels.  But  interposing  for  our  ransom,  He  takes 
upon  Him  the  seed  of  Abraham.  In  this  way  alone 
could  He  have  that  experience  of  human  life,  with 
its  cares  and  conflicts,  its  temptations  and  sorrows, 
which  would  fit  Him  to  enter  with  a  ready  sympathy 
into  the  trials  and  wants  of  His  people. 

The  necessity  for  His  twofold  nature  being  pre- 


352  The  Annunciation, 


mised,  while  the  problem  it  presents  must  have  baf- 
fled the  wisdom  of  men  and  angels,  we  can  but  stand 
and  adore  the  manner  in  which  it  was  actually  re- 
solved. The  very  first  intimation  of  a  Deliverer  to 
the  fallen  pair  in  Eden,  contained  a  significant  refer- 
ence to  the  "seed  of  the  woman;''  which,  centuries 
afterward,  ripened  into  the  explicit  announcement,  "A 
Virgin  shall  conceive  and  bear  a  Son."  (Isa.  vii.  14.) 
It  was  absolutely  indispensable  that  the  Redeemer 
of  sinners  should  Himself  be  without  sin.  This  is 
one  of  our  intuitive  convictions.  We  all  understand 
why  the  sacred  writers  dwell  upon  the  perfect  sinless- 
ness  of  Jesus;  why  they  tell  us  that  He  was  "  holy, 
harmless,  and  undefiled ;"  that  He  "  knew  no  sin;" 
that  He  was  a  Lamb  "  without  blemish  and  without 
.spot ;"  and  that  "  in  Him  was  no  sin."  The  least 
taint  of  sin  must  have  vitiated  His  entire  work. 
There  is  only  one  method  by  which  it  would  have 
seemed  to  us  possible  to  bring  about  this  result,  the 
production  of  a  sinless  man,  viz.,  that  pursued  in  the 
original  creation  of  man.  God  had  made  one  holy 
man.  He  could  make  another.  But  the  insuperable 
difficulty  here  would  have  been,  that  such  a  man, 
though  bearing  our  nature,  would  not  have  been  of 
our  race ;  would  have  been  allied  to  us  by  no  ties  of 
consanguinity  or  affection ;  would  have  been  no 
nearer  to  us  than  an  angel  clothed  in  a  human  form; 
and  could  not,  therefore,  have   answered  to  any  of 


The  Annunciation.  353 

the  conditions  essential  to  the  atoning  work  to  be 
accomplished. 

On  the  other  hand,  no  one  descending  from  Adam 
"  by  ordinary  generation,"  could  escape  the  taint  of 
original  sin.  The  infection  was  in  the  blood.  The 
stream  cannot  rise  above  its  fountain.  "  That  which 
is  born  of  the  flesh,  is  flesh."  Had  Jesus  been  the 
son  of  Joseph  and  Mary,  He  Himself  would  have 
needed  a  Redeemer. 

This  problem  which  must  so  have  confounded  us, 
could  not  baffle  Plim  with  whom  "  all  things  are  pos- 
sible." Behold  in  Christ  "  the  wisdom  of  God." 
Tlic  Son  of  God — tlic  Son  of  Mary.  Divine — human. 
Finite — infinite.  We  accept  the  marvel,  because 
God  hath  affirmed  it ;  not  because  we  can  explain 
it.  We  cannot.  What  we  know  for  a  certainty  is, 
that  God  has  come  down  to  us  in  the  likeness  of 
man.  The  stream  of  humanity  flowing  on  in  the 
same  deep,  turbid  channels  for  ages,  had  become 
immedicably  poisoned.  Nothing  could  heal  or  even 
ameliorate  it  but  the  infusion  of  a  Divine  element. 
And  this  was  the  inscrutable  transaction  described 
in  the  Scripture  before  us,  which  has  forever  made 
the  Virgin  Mary  "  blessed  among  women." 

We  might  have  asked  a  thousand  questions  con- 
cerning the  Divine  procedure  in  this  matter ;  but 
there  is  a  veil  thrown  over  it  which  screens  it  from 
all  human  eyes.     How  "  the  word  was  made  flesh," 

30* 


354  T^f^^  Annunciation. 


we  do  not  know  ;  but  we  know  the  fact.  We  know 
that  Jesus  was  as  truly  the  Son  of  Mary  as  Mary 
was  the  cliild  of  her  mother.  The  miraculous  in- 
fluence which  overshadowed  and  pervaded  her  frame 
abated  nothing  from  the  strict  humanity  of  her  Son. 
Tile  union  of  the  Divine  nature  with  the  nature  He 
derived  from  His  mother,  left  the  latter  unimpaired 
in  the  fulness  of  its  powers.  There  was  no  such 
transfusion  of  the  one  into  the  other,  no  such  com- 
mixture of  the  two,  as  to  disturb  the  identity  of 
either.  The  Divine  nature  could  not  become  human, 
for  it  is  self-existent  and  immutable ;  it  cannot  be  to- 
day what  it  was  not  yesterday ;  nor  to-morrow  what 
it  is  not  to-day ;  as  it  certainly  cannot  become  sus- 
ceptible of  suffering.  Nor,  for  corresponding  rea- 
sons, can  the  human  be  made  Divine.  But  the 
human  nature  being  formed  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  and 
taken  into  a  most  intimate  and  indissoluble  union 
with  the  Divine,  was  not  only  complete  in  respect 
to  the  full  circle  of  its  faculties  and  capacities,  but 
exempt  from  the  hereditary  defilement  of  the  race. 
"  That  Holy  Tiling  which  shall  be  born  of  thee." 
We  have  seen  that  a  Redeemer  must  be  human 
and  sinless, — and  how  wonderfully  this  was  brought 
about.  It  was  no  less  needful  that  He  should  be 
perfect.  Indeed,  it  is  self-evident  that  the  humanity  of 
such  a  being  could  not  fail  to  be  of  the  highest  possi- 
ble type.    Our  subject  does  not  call  for  an  elucidation 


The  Aniiwiciation.  355 

of  this  point ;.  for  it  is  not  so  much  the  Son  as  the 
mother  we  are  now  contemplating.  Otherwise,  it 
were  easy  to  show  not  only  that  His  character  com- 
bined all  the  excellences  possible  to  human  nature 
in  their  just  balance,  but  that  He  represented  no  one 
class  or  nation  or  age.  A  Jew  by  descent,  He  was 
in  character  as  much  Gentile  as  Jew.  There  was 
about  Him  nothing  provincial,  nothing  temporary. 
Had  He  appeared  among  any  other  people,  they 
would  have  found  the  same  grounds  of  sympathy 
between  themselves  and  Him,  which  attracted  to 
Him  the  devout,  the  humble,  and  the  suffering  of 
the  Hebrews.  Should  He  reassume  His  earthly  min- 
istry to-day,  and  open  it  in  China  or  Africa,  the  same 
classes  would  be  drawn  to  Him.  For  He  belongs  to 
all  climes,  to  all  races,  to  all  periods, — as  much  the 
only  Man  as  Adam  was  when  he  stood  alone,  a 
perfect  man  in  a  perfect  world.  But  we  must  not 
pursue  this  theme. 

A  sinless  man,  was  Jesus  the  offspring  of  a  sinless 
mother  ?  How  marvellous  that  such  a  question 
should  be  raised!  It  was  not  raised  for  centuries 
after  her  death.  The  subject  is  too  large  to  be  dis- 
cussed here.  But  the  historical  facts  may  be  briefly 
stated.  For  the  first  five  centuries  of  the  Christian 
era,  there  is  no  hint  to  be  found  in  the  writings  of 
the  fathers,  of  the  perfection  or  the  worship  of  Mary. 
Several  of  them  refer  to  incidents  mentioned  in  the 


156  The  Annunciation. 


Gospels  as  illustrating  her  unbelief,  and  even  her 
"  ambition."  The  apocryphal  legends,  invented  by- 
heretics,  were  condemned  by  the  Church  of  those 
ages.  But  these  legends  contained  the  fatal  germ 
which  the  Church  itself  by  and  by  transplanted  into 
its  bosom,  and  there  it  grew,  until  it  has  now  waxed 
to  be  "  a  great  tree."  It  is  quite  intelligible  how 
the  virtues  which  clustered  around  the  person  of  the 
Virgin,  might  be  carried  up  by  enthusiastic  writers 
and  aspiring  prelates,  from  the  human  into  the  Di- 
vine. In  the  sixth  century  it  was  first  suggested 
within  the  Church  that,  while  inheriting  the  stain  of 
original  depravity,  it  was  possible  God  might  have 
preserved  her  from  positive  transgression.  In  the 
thirteenth  century  this  modest  conjecture  had  grown 
into  the  averment  that,  although  conceived  in  origi- 
nal sin,  her  nature  was  renewed  and  sanctified  before 
birth.  Soon  after,  the  modicum  of  truth  lingering 
in  this  statement  was  contested ;  and  then  com- 
menced that  controversy  among  the  Romish  Doc- 
tors concerning  the  absolute  freedom  of  the  Virgin 
from  all  sin,  original  and  actual,  which  has  in  our 
day  culminated  in  the  famous  Decree  (Dec.  8,  1854) 
of  the  "  Immaculate  Conception."  It  is  now  a  part 
of  the  settled  faith  of  the  Romish  Church,  that  Mary 
tvas  as  sinless  as  her  Divine  Son.  And  every  mem- 
ber of  that  communion  is  required  to  believe  this 
under  penalty  of  anathema. 


The  Annunciation.  357 

There  is  something  frightfully  impious  in  a  trans- 
action like  this  :  that  a  Church  calling  itself  Christian, 
should  not  simply  invent  a  dogma  which  is  without 
Scripture  warrant  and  against  all  Scripture  author- 
ity, but  attempt  to  bind  it  upon  men's  consciences 
as  of  God's  teaching,  and  to  make  the  reception  of  it 
essential  to  their  salvation  !  Let  us  be  thankful  to 
that  benign  Providence  who  has  given  us  an  open 
Bible  and  preserved  us  from  these  soul-destroying 
errors. 

We  see  enough  of  the  Virgin  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment to  know  that  if  it  were  possible  for  sorrow  and 
pain  to  force  an  entrance  into  heaven,  the  propaga- 
tion of  the  fable  we  have  been  considering,  with  the 
worship  which  is  paid  her,  would  fill  her  with  unut- 
terable anguish.  But,  not  to  dwell  upon  this  topic, 
let  us  close  with  a  more  grateful  theme. 

While  we  can  neither  concede  the  sinlessness  of 
Mary  nor  join  in  offering  her  Divine  honors,  we 
pay  her  a  truer  reverence,  and  cherish  her  memory 
with  a  purer  affection,  than  those  who  would  exalt 
her  to  a  seat  on  the  very  throne  of  the  universe,  be- 
side God  and  the  Lamb.  She  stands  before  us  the 
impersonation  of  all  that  is  true  and  refined  and  hal- 
lowed in  female  excellence.  In  all  the  records  of 
female  biography,  ancient  and  modern,  Biblical  and 
profane,  we  know  of  nothing  so  exquisite,  no  inci- 
dent   in   which    unsullied   purity,  genuine   modesty, 


35^  The  Annunciation. 

womanly  dignity,  maiden-like  grace,  holy  courage, 
and  lofty  faith,  are  blended  in  such  matchless  har- 
mony as  in  her  reply  to  the  seraphic  messenger: 
"  Behold  the  handmaid  of  the  Lord :  be  it  unto  me 
according  to  thy  word."  No  wonder  the  great 
painters  have  selected  this  scene  for  their  noblest 
efforts ;  and  no  wonder  they  have  failed.  There  is 
too  much  of  heaven  in  the  scene  for  thetn.  The 
pencil  which  depicts  it,  must  bring  its  colors  from 
the  sphere  which  supplied  its  inspiration. 

With  one  voice  you  respond  to  the  benediction, 
"  Blessed  art  thou  among  women !"  What  woman 
has  ever  read  her  history  without  this  feeling?  It 
is  part  of  that  sublime  Magnificat  in  which  her  rapt 
soul  poured  forth  its  swelling  emotions :  "  From 
henceforth  all  generations  shall  call  me  blessed !" 
Not  many  days  elapsed  before  her  cousin,  Elizabeth, 
took  up  the  immortal  beatitude,  "  Blessed  art  thou 
among  women,  and  blessed  is  the  fruit  of  thy 
womb  !"  After  He  entered  upon  His  ministry,  an 
unknown  woman  standing  among  a  crowd,  the  her- 
ald of  her  sex  for  the  coming  ages,  took  up  the  in- 
spired benison  and  cried,  "  Blessed  is  the  womb  that 
bare  Thee,  and  the  paps  which  Thou  hast  sucked !" 
And  the  sweet  symphony  has  been  prolonged  from 
that  day  to  this  ;  and  will  be  till  the  last  woman  has 
gone  up  to  see  and  to  love  Mary  as  sJie  is. 

And  do  you  join  in  this  benediction?     Do   you 


The  Annu7iciation.  359 

really  feel  that  the  Virgin's  lot  was  exalted  far  above 
that  of  all  other  women  ?  And  would  you  "  give 
the  world"  to  stand  in  some  endearing  and  kindred 
relation  to  Jesus?  Let  us  test  your  sincerity.  Have 
you  forgotten  His  reply  to  that  nameless  woman 
who  blessed  Him  from  the  crowd  ?  "  Yea,  rather, 
blessed  are  they  that  hear  the  Word  of  God,  and 
keep  it."  And  His  yet  more  remarkable  reference 
to  Mary  herself,  on  another  occasion  :  "  Behold  my 
mother  and  my  brethren  !  For  zuhosoever  shall  do  the 
will  of  God,  the  same  is  my  brother,  and  my  sister, 
and  mother!"  (Mark  iii.  35.)  Do  thou  "the  will  of 
God"  in  receiving  Mary's  Son  into  thine  heart,  and 
at  the  last  day  Mary  herself  will  rise  up  and  call 
tliee  "  Blessed  !" 


MARY  AND  ELIZABETH. 


Luke  i.  42. 


"  Blessed  art  thou  aniomr  women." 

It  was  proposed,  on  the  recurrence  of  this  anni- 
versary [Christmas]  a  year  ago,  to  present  in  a  con- 
nected form  such  information  as  the  Scriptures  give 
us  concerning  the  opening  chapter  in  the  Hfe  of  the 
Virgin  Mary.  The  sermon  to  which  you  then  lis- 
tened was  devoted  to  the  "Annunciation."  Imme- 
diately on  the  departure  of  the  angel,  as  we  read, 
"  Mary  arose  in  those  days,  and  went  into  the  hill- 
country  with  haste,  into  a  city  of  Juda;  and  entered 
into  the  house  of  Zacharias,  and  saluted  Elizabeth." 

The  district  allotted  to  the  tribe  of  Judah  was 
traversed  by  si  range  of  hills  running  from  south  to 
north  through  its  central  part.  This  region  was 
called  the  "  hill-country."  What  "  city"  of  this 
neighborhood  is  intended  by  the  sacred  penman  is 
not  known.  The  conjecture  countenanced  by  re- 
spectable writers  that  by  "Juda"  we  are  to  under- 
stand y^uta  or  jfiitta,  a  town  still  standing,  seems  to 
^60 


Mary  and  Elizabeth.  361 

be  without  valid  warrant.  The  preferable  opinion  is 
that  the  reference  is  to  Hebron,  which  was  a  sacred 
city  given  by  Joshua  to  the  sons  of  Aaron.  "There 
was  given  the  promise  of  Isaac,  and  the  covenant  of 
circumcision.  There  Abraham  had  his  first  land, 
and  David  his  first  crown.  There  lay  interred  Abra- 
ham and  Sarah,  Isaac  and  Rebecca,  Jacob  and  Leah." 
What  could  be  more  fitting  than  that  such  a  city — 
one  of  the  appointed  "  cities  of  refuge"  withal — 
should  be  connected  with  the  advent  of  the  promised 
Deliverer?  But  the  question  remains,  why  should 
Mary  undertake  this  journey  ?  Nazareth  was  sixty- 
five  miles  north,  Hebron  eighteen  miles  south,  of 
Jerusalem.  With  the  imperfect  modes  of  locomo- 
tion still  proper  to  Oriental  travel,  a  journey  of  eighty 
miles  would  have  been  something  considerable  even 
for  the  head  of  a  family.  The  customs  of  her  race, 
too,  virtually  prohibited  a  single  or  betrothed  female 
from  travelling  alone.  Yet,  heedless  of  all  obstacles, 
the  Virgin  loses  no  time  after  the  disappearance  of 
Gabriel,  in  setting  out  for  Hebron ;  not,  we  must 
presume,  absolutely  alone,  but  probably  attended  by 
a  single  servant.  Can  we  find  a  key  to  this  pro- 
cedure ?  Assuredly  it  was  suggested  to  her  by  the 
angel.  She  had  received  the  wonderful  announce- 
ment from  his  lips  with  an  humble,  grateful,  adoring 
faith,  which  attested  her  descent  as  a  genuine  daugh- 
ter of  Abraham.     It  is  the  beneficent  law  of  the  Dis- 


o 


62  Mary  and  Elizabeth. 


pensation  now  opening  upon  the  world,  "to  him 
that  hath  shall  be  given."  Gabriel  is  therefore  com- 
missioned to  fortify  her  faith  by  means  of  a  "  sign" 
pointing  to  the  approaching  birth  of  the  Fore-runner 
of  the  Messiah.  The  communication  he  made  re- 
specting her  "  cousin  Elizabeth/'  was  only  less  re- 
markable than  his  immediate  address  to  the  Virgin 
herself.  And  while  she  already  "  believed"  (see 
Elizabeth's  benediction,  ver.  45),  yet  will  she  not 
decline  that  confirmation  of  her  faith  which  the 
heavenly  messenger  has  invited  her  to  seek  in  dis- 
tant Hebron.  We  always  love  to  be  reassured 
again  and  again  of  the  news  we  wish  may  be  true, 
however  implicitly  we  credit  it. 

But  there  is  another  aspect  of  this  journey  which 
will  come  home  at  least  to  the  heart  of  every  woman. 
Never  since  time  began  had  our  globe  witnessed  a 
transaction  so  mysterious  as  that  in  which  Mary  was 
to  bear  so  exalted  a  part.  We  make  no  exception 
even  in  behalf  of  that  familiar  intercourse  with  our 
first  parents  to  which  the  Creator  stooped,  before 
the  Serpent  had  seduced  them  from  their  steadfast- 
ness. The  hour  was  at  hand  to  which  all  other 
hours  had  pointed ;  the  event  towards  which  all 
other  events  in  the  earth's  annals  had  converged. 
The  secret  yearnings  of  humanity,  which  had  bur- 
dened all  hearts  in  all  lands,  were  about  to  be  satis- 
fied.    The  cherished  hope  of  the  Hebrew  race,  which 


Mary  and  Elizabeth.  363 

had  been  their  only  solace  through  ages  of  captivity, 
of  dispersion,  of  oppression,  was  now  to  be  realized. 
The  long  sequence  of  prophecies  was  to  receive 
a  glorious  fulfilment.  The  august  vision  which 
prophets  and  kings  had  waited  for, 

"  And  died  without  the  sight," 

was  to  bless  the  weary  world,  and  from  the  countless 
millions  of  her  sex  who  had  trod  the  earth  during 
the  lapse  of  four  thousand  years,  Mary  of  Nazareth 
had  been  selected  of  God  as  the  woman  through 
whom  He  would  bestow  this  ineffable  blessing  upon 
a  ruined  world.  And  now  the  mighty  secret  had 
been  confided  to  her, — to  her  alone.  What  a  situa- 
tion for  a  youthful  maiden  !  What  a  charge  to  be 
laid  upon  that  gentle  spirit !  What  unutterable 
emotions  would  agitate  her  breast !  It  is  too  much 
to  bear  alone.  There  are  crises  with  us,  sometimes 
of  sorrow,  sometimes  of  bliss,  sometimes  of  complex, 
conflicting  feelings,  when  we  must  seek  human  sym- 
pathy as  well  as  Divine  support.  At  this  moment 
there  was  no  one  at  hand  to  whom  Mary  could  con- 
fide what  had  happened.  We  feel  an  intuitive  con- 
viction that  those  commentators  are  far  away  from 
the  truth,  who  imagine  that  she  went  immediately  to 
Joseph  and  rehearsed  the  details  of  the  angel's  visit. 
This  is  simply  incredible;  we  might  almost  say  im- 
possible.    Before  he  could  be  apprised  of  this  great 


;64  Mary  and  Elizabeth. 


"  mystery  of  godliness"  she  must  take  counsel  both 
of  God  and  man.  Of  all  persons  living,  her  ven- 
erable cousin,  especially  after  the  revelation  just 
made  to  Mary  concerning  her,  was  the  one  to  whom 
she  would  most  naturally  turn.  Aside  from  the  tie 
of  consanguinity,  it  must  have  been  apparent  to  her 
mind  that  their  histories  were  in  some  way  to  be 
interwoven  ;  that  the  marvellous  dispensation  of  God 
towards  Elizabeth  was  to  find  its  interpretation  in  the 
yet  greater  marvel  of  her  own  experience.  In  any 
event,  it  was  a  womanly  instinct  which  bade  her 
hasten  to  unbosom  herself  to  one  whose  age  and 
piety  and  affection  and  kindred  circumstances  all 
gave  presage  of  the  sympathy  she  required. 

Let  us  cast  a  glance  now  at  that  favored  mansion 
in  the  "  hill-country"  which  Mary  is  approaching. 
Six  months  before,  the  aged  Zacharias  had  gone  up 
to  Jerusalem  to  take  his  turn  in  conducting  the  tem- 
ple-worship, agreeably  to  the  prescribed  ritual  which 
required  each  of  the  twenty-four  classes  of  priests 
to  officiate  for  a  week  at  a  time  in  regular  succession. 
As  he  stood  one  day  before  the  altar  of  incense,  Ga- 
briel appeared  to  him  and  announced  the  coming 
birth  of  a  son  who  should  be  "  filled  with  the  Holy 
Ghost,"  and  go  before  the  promised  Messiah  "  in  the 
spirit  and  power  of  Elijah."  This  was  more  than 
the  venerable  priest  could  credit.  In  circumstances 
which  assimilate   the   case   very   closely  to    that   of 


Mary  and  Elizabeth.  365 

Abraham,  he  falls  into  Abraham's  unbelief  and  de- 
mands a  sign.  "Whereby  shall  I  know  this?  for  I 
am  an  old  man  and  my  wife  well-stricken  in  years." 
Of  course  we  cannot  justify,  but  can  we  explain  his 
distrust  ?  May  it  not  be  that  the  proper  balance  of 
his  mind  was,  for  the  moment,  disturbed  by  the  un- 
wonted vision  ?  In  the  history  of  the  patriarchs 
angels  appear  very  often.  They  re-appear  in  the 
times  of  the  Judges.  Under  the  prophets  and  kings 
we  see  very  little  of  them.  They  return  during  the 
captivity,  especially  as  God's  messengers  to  Daniel 
and  Zechariah.  But  we  have  no  record  of  the  ap- 
pearance of  an  angel  for  five  hundred  years,  ifntil 
now  Gabriel  stands  by  the  side  of  the  altar  at  which 
Zacharias  is  ministering.  It  was  doubtless  as  unex- 
pected a  visit  to  the  old  priest  as  the  appearance  of 
an  angel  here  at  this  moment  would  be  to  us.  Such 
an  epiphany,  so  abrupt  in  its  advent,  so  overpowering 
in  its  splendor,  might  disconcert  even  the  faith  of  a 
true  Israelite  like  Zacharias, — the  more  so  when  the 
announcement  which  fell  upon  his  ear  seemed  so 
incredible. 

There  is  another  explanation  of  his  unbelief, 
founded  in  the  truest  philosophy  and  of  the  deep- 
est interest.  Full  justice  has  been  done  to  it  by  a 
very  able  pen.  "  But  how  could  Zacharias  mistrust 
and  contradict  the  word  of  the  angel,  whose  message 
thus   met  his   heart's  deepest  aspirations  ?     At  such 

31* 


;66  Mary  and  Elizabeth. 


moments,  when  the  bestowal  of  a  long-wished-for 
blessing,  whose  want  he  thought  he  had  long  ago 
got  over,  is  announced  to  one  who  is  resigned  to 
God's  dealings,  and  is  declared  to  be  now  nigh  at 
hand,  all  the  sensibility  of  his  soul  is  expressed  in  a 
sudden  reaction.  The  peace  of  resignation  has  be- 
come so  dear  to  him.  He  has  felt  himself  so  secure, 
so  free,  and  so  proud  in  that  deprivation  which  he 
has  accepted  from  the  hand  of  God  as  his  lot  in  life, 
and  he  is  unwilling  to  be  thrown  back  into  his  former 
conflicts.  Hence  it  generally  happens  that  there  is  a 
remnant  of  bitter  reminiscence  still  unexterminated 
in  the  depths  of  the  heart.  He  has  once  felt  him- 
self injured  by  Providence,  but  he  was  constrained 
by  his  submission  to  God  to  oppose,  to  condemn,  to 
deaden  such  a  feeling.  But  now,  amidst  the  sur- 
prising announcement,  the  smothered  flame  of  his 
displeasure  bursts  forth  once  more.  His  various 
emotions  produce  a  strong  passion,  a  convulsive  effort 
of  mind,  which  seems  to  repel  the  promise.  Thus 
did  Abraham  make  objections  when  Isaac  was  prom- 
ised him ;  and  Moses  seemed  no  longer  gladly  will- 
ing when  he  was  at  length  commissioned  to  realize 
his  youth's  highest  ideal,  and  to  redeem  Israel.  And 
Zacharias  manifests  a  similar  emotion  :  *  How  shall  I 
know  this  ?'"* 

*  Lange. 


Mary  and  Elizabeth.  367 

In  one  sense  his  petition  was  granted  :  and  the 
angelic  message  was  verified  by  a  sign  ;  but  it  was 
widely  different  from  the  sign  he  had  wanted. 
"Thou  shalt  be  dumb  until  the  day  that  these  things 
shall  be  performed  ;  because  thou  believest  not  my 
words."  Touched  by  the  chastening  finger  of  the 
Almighty,  the  aged  priest  retires,  a  mute,  from  the 
temple,  to  resume  his  functions  there  only  after  the 
birth  of  the  promised  child.  "  Departing  to  his  own 
house,"  he  no  doubt  avoided  society,  sharing  with 
his  wife  the  seclusion  she  sought ;  for  we  read  that 
"  she  hid  herself  five  months."  This  season  she 
would  devote  to  study,  meditation,  and  prayer, — the 
needful  preparation  for  the  scenes  that  awaited  her. 

A  few  weeks  later,  a  friendly  step  breaks  in  upon 
the  privacy  of  the  ancient  couple.  Mary  stands  be- 
fore Ethabetli  !  As  among  the  greetings  which  had 
passed  between  woman  and  woman,  the  sun  had 
never  shone  upon  an  interview  like  this.  Here,  face 
to  face,  are  the  two  women  whom  the  King  of  kings 
Himself  delights  to  honor;  one,  the  mother  of  "the 
greatest  that  was  born  of  women"  ;  the  other,  the 
mother  of  his  Lord.  When  has  an  earthly  habita- 
tion been  so  honored  ?  Under  that  humble  roof 
were  collected  all  the  treasures  of  earth  :  that,  cer- 
tainly, which  alone  could  give  those  treasures  any 
real  value;  that,  without  which  the  earth  itself  must 
forever  remain  a  moral  wilderness.  From  that  thatch 


368  Mary  and  Elizabeth. 

among  the  mountains,  a  new  light  was  to  stream 
forth  upon  the  expectant  nations ;  a  fresh  fountain 
was  to  be  opened,  whose  living  waters  would  one 
day  reach  all  the  tribes  of  men. 

The  scene  itself  was  in  keeping  with  these  sublime 
results.  The  great  Epic  Poets  of  antiquity  constantly 
introduce  the  gods  and  goddesses  into  their  narra- 
tives, as  part  of  the  essential  machinery  of  the  drama. 
Here  the  true  Jehovah  came  ;  not  the  gods  of  the 
heathen  which  are  no  gods.  For  "  Elizabeth  was 
filled  with  the  Holy  Ghosts  And,  taught  of  the 
Spirit  in  that  same  hour  what  she  was  to  speak,  she 
returns  the  salutation  of  the  Virgin,  exclaiming, 
"  Blessed  art  thou  among  women,  and  blessed  is  the 
fruit  of  thy  womb.  And  whence  is  this  to  me,  that 
the  mother  of  my  Lord  should  come  to  me  ?" 
Mary  had  not  yet  avowed  her  errand,  much  less  re- 
cited the  visit  of  the  angel.  But  Elizabeth  knows  all. 
Rising  by  a  single  step  to  the  utmost  sublimity  of 
faith,  she  at  once  recognizes  the  future  Son  of  Mary 
in  His  true  character  and  rank,  as  her  "Lord"; 
and  pronounces  her  grateful  benediction  upon  His 
mother.  It  is  the  Old  Covenant,  about  to  pass  away, 
saluting  the  New.  The  first  benison  of  the  Chris- 
tian dispensation  ;  one  which  has  been  taken  up  and 
reiterated  by  millions  of  tongues  all  adown  the  ages, 
and  which  will  still  be  repeated  as  long  as  time  en- 
dures,   "  Blessed  art   tJiou   among  women .'"      How 


Mary  and  Elizabeth.  369 

strong  the  faith,  and  how  beautiful  the  humihty,  of 
the  venerable  matron  !  In  such  a  presence,  disparity 
of  years  and  all  other  distinctions  become  insignifi- 
cant. The  illustrious  destiny  accorded  to  herself,  so 
far  from  nourishing  her  pride  or  enkindling  her  envy, 
only  inspires  a  profounder  reverence  for  her  youthful 
relative.  Elizabeth's  cup  is  full,  in  that  the  child  of 
her  old  age  is  appointed  to  be  the  Fore-runner  of 
Mary's  child.  And  it  awakens  her  astonishment  and 
gratitude,  that  the  Mother  of  her  Lord  should  take 
this  long  and  arduous  journey  to  come  to  her. 

The  Virgin's  faith  found  its  reward.  The  first  ac- 
cents from  her  cousin's  lips  gave  confirmation,  as  by 
a  voice  from  heaven,  to  all  that  Gabriel  had  prom- 
ised. And  as  the  beatitude  of  welcome  ceased,  her 
own  ecstatic  joy  poured  itself  forth  in  that  lofty 
Psalm  of  praise  which  the  Church  has  embalmed  as 
the  "  Magnificat  of  the  Virgin  Mary."  The  struc- 
ture of  this  sublime  effusion  connects  it  with  the  Old 
Testament,  while  its  glowing  delineations  of  the  Mes- 
siah identify  it  with  the  New.  Not  to  attempt  any 
analysis  or  exposition  of  its  terms,  there  is  something 
peculiarly  impressive  and  animating,  something  pic- 
turesque, one  might  almost  say,  in  this  Messianic 
Hymn  from  the  lips  of  the  Messiah's  Mother.  When 
Gabriel  appeared  to  her,  he  exclaimed,  "  Blessed  art 
thou  among  women."  When  Elizabeth  met  her,  it 
was  with    the  same    salutation.    "  Blessed    art  thou 


2,Jo  Mary  and  Elizabeth. 

among  women."  And  now,  filled  with  the  Holy 
Ghost,  she  appropriates  the  august  benediction  : 
"  Behold,  from  henceforth  all  generations  shall  call 
me  blessed."  The  Roman  Catholics  profess  to  find 
here  a  warrant  for  their  "  Ave  Marias."  But  without 
reason.  What  grosser  wrong  could  be  done  to  the 
memory  of  the  Virgin,  than  to  pretend  that  she  here 
sets  herself  up  as  a  goddess  to  be  worshipped  ?  How 
her  whole  soul  would  have  revolted,  had  she  been 
told  that  Christian  Churches  and  nations  would  pray 
to  her,  as  the  "  Queen  of  the  world,"  the  "  Ladder 
of  Heaven,"  the  "  Throne  of  God,"  the  "  Gate  of 
Paradise,"  and  the  like!  That  they  would  even  go 
to  the  blasphemous  extreme  of  saying  to  her  in 
offices  of  devotion,  "  Command  thy  Son  ;"  "  Com- 
mand thy  Son  by  the  right  of  a  mother;"  "  Compel 
God  to  be  merciful  unto  sinners."  Such  phrases 
abound  in  their  books.  Is  this  to  call  Mary 
"blessed," — to  raise  her  to  the  throne  of  the  uni- 
verse; to  give  her  a  place,  as  the  painters  constantly 
do  in  their  domes  and  altar-pieces,  among  the 
Trinity ;  and  even  to  represent  the  Sacred  Three  as 
uniting  to  do  her  reverence?  No  one  whose  mind 
has  not  been  thoroughly  shackled  and  debased  by  a 
superstitious  training,  can  require  a  word  of  argu- 
ment to  vindicate  that  humble,  holy  woman  from  all 
sympathy  with  this  idolatry.  Next  to  her  "  God 
and  Saviour,"  there  can  be  no  being  in  the  universe 


Mmy  and  Elizabeth.  371 

to  whom,  if  she  is  permitted  to  witness  it,  the  spec- 
tacle can  be  so  offensive,  of  countless  churches  dedi- 
cated to  her  worship  and  robbing  Jehovah  of  His 
due  to  exalt  her. 

Yet  they  tell  us  that  it  is  they  alone  through 
whom  her  prophetic  aspiration  is  realized,  "  All  gen- 
erations shall  call  me  Blessed."  We  deny  it.  And 
in  confutation  of  the  claim,  we  appeal  to  the  uni- 
versal sentiment  of  the  Protestant  world.  We  have 
^w  representative  in  that  unknown  woman  who  cried 
one  day  from  the  crowd  assembled  around  the 
Saviour,  "  Blessed  is  the  womb  that  bare  Thee,  and 
the  paps  which  Thou  hast  sucked!"  We  joyfully 
accord  to  the  Virgin  the  highest  place  among 
women.  We  can  conceive  of  no  loftier  distinction 
than  that  which  has  enshrined  her  name  in  all  hu- 
man hearts.  And  yet  we  cannot,  we  dare  not,  con- 
trovert the  prompt  and  emphatic  response  of  the 
Saviour  to  that  fervid  panegyric,  "  Yea,  rather, 
blessed  are  they  that  hear  the  Word  of  God  and 
keep  it."  May  not  the  conjecture  be  allowed,  that 
He  uttered  this  quasi-rebuke  with  a  special  aim  ? 
that  there  rose  up  before  His  mind,  at  the  moment, 
a  vision  of  that  gross  Mariolatry  which  was  to  mark 
the  fatal  apostasy  of  the  Church  in  after-ages,  and 
He  felt  constrained  to  brand  it  in  advance  with  His 
displeasure,  and  to  assure  His  people  that  in  faith- 
fully keeping  God's  commands  they  would  attain  a 


372  Ma  ry  a7id  Elizabeth. 

blessing  even  beyond  that  which  rested  upon  His 
mother's  head?  Does  the  Romish  Church  believe 
this  ?  Is  not  the  whole  current  of  its  teaching  and 
practice  directly  in  the  face  of  it?  We  Protestants 
are  free  to  confess  that  we  are  not  ready  to  honor 
the  Virgin  at  the  expense  of  her  Son.  We  tell  that 
Church  that,  in  our  esteem,  the  true  way  to  honor 
her  is  to  abide  by  the  rule  she  herself  laid  down  on 
the  first  occasion  when  they  appeared  in  public  to- 
gether, after  His  baptism:  ''Whatsoever  He  saitJi 
jinto  you,  do  itT  This  direction  to  the  servants  at 
the  marriage-festival  of  Cana  carries  within  it  the 
germ  of  a  universal  principle.  It  is  precisely  what 
Mary  would  have  said  to  any  other  group,  of  what- 
ever rank  or  occupation,  at  any  period  of  His  minis- 
try. We  arrogate  nothing  in  maintaining  that,  if 
she  could  now  revisit  the  world,  she  would  hasten  to 
the  deluded  crowds  who  are  kneeling  at  her  altars, 
and  indignantly  shout  in  their  ears,  "  See  you  do  it 
not :  I  am  your  fellow-servant,  and  of  those  who 
have  the  testimony  of  Jesus.  Worship  God!'  And 
in  vain  would  they  search  among  the  recorded  teach- 
ings of  her  exalted  Son  for  a  solitary  utterance  which 
might  countenance  the  worship  they  offer  her.  But 
this  theme  is  enticing  us  from  our  narrative. 

Their  psalms  of  welcome  and  thanksgiving  ended, 
these  two  favored  women  retire  from  our  view.  The 
only  additional  fact  related  of  Mary's  visit  is,  that  it 


Mary  and  Elizabeth.  "^^t^ 


lasted  "  about  three  months."  How  the  silences  of 
Scripture  try  us!  And  what  a  proof  they  supply 
that  the  Bible  is  of  God!  What  uninspired  historian 
(or  novelist,  if  you  will)  could  have  passed  over  a 
visit  like  this  in  silence?  Here  are  the  two  most 
remarkable  women  of  their  time  not  only,  but  of  all 
time,  brought  together  under  the  same  roof,  and 
united  in  the  most  intimate  fellowship  for  three 
months.  Who  would  not  exchange  his  whole 
library  for  a  faithful  diary  of  those  fleeting  weeks? 
Who  would  not  prize  the  journal  of  a  single  day  ; 
the  privilege  of  looking  in  upon  this  wondrous  pair 
whom  angels  and  the  Lord  of  angels  had  visited, 
and  gathering  up  the  words  that  fell  from  their  lips? 
What  rehearsings  of  their  own  personal  experiences ! 
What  grateful  retrospection  of  the  stupendous  events 
of  their  national  annals!  What  eager  searchings 
into  the  meaning  of  those  old  types  and  prophecies 
which  pointed  to  the  coming  Deliverer  and  His 
Fore-runner!  What  large  discourse,  day  by  day,  of 
the  new  era  about  to  dawn  upon  the  world,  and  the 
endless  possibilities  involved  in  the  advent  of  the 
Messiah  and  the  setting  up  among  men  of  the  king- 
dom that  was  to  know  no  end !  What  hallowed 
communings  with  God!  What  a  mutual  unbosom- 
ing of  all  the  hopes  and  joys  and  anxieties  which 
must  have  filled  to  repletion  the  hearts  of  these  two 
blessed   women,  at   this    momentous   crisis   in   their 


374  Mary  and  Elizabeth. 

history  and,  not  less,  in  the  history  of  the  world  ! 
These  things  we  may  presume :  but  the  curtain  has 
not  been  Hfted  on  them.  All  we  know  is  that,  at 
the  end  of  three  months,  Mary  left  the  hill-country 
and  "  returned  to  her  own  house." 

"  Her  own  house."  This  shows  that  Joseph  had 
not  yet  taken  her  to  Ids  house.  And,  now,  can  he 
take  her?  This  is  the  question  of  questions  with 
this  faithful  Israelite.  It  is  not  for  us  to  reproduce 
all  the  causes  and  implements  of  embarrassment 
which  were  accumulated  around  him.  We  are  not 
equal  to  that  task  :  no  one  could  compass  it.  And 
if  it  were  possible  to  comprehend  his  situation  fully, 
this  would  be  no  place  to  depict  it  in  its  details. 
Enough  that  on  her  return  from  that  long  absence 
which,  occurring  soon  after  their  betrothment,  might 
seem  inexplicable  to  him,  he  was  on  the  point  of 
"putting  her  away;"  but  "privately,"  as  justice  and 
humanity  dictated.  This  could  not  be  permitted. 
The  angel  of  the  Lord  comes  to  him  in  a  vision  and 
sets  his  mind  at  rest.  Shall  we  not  add,  and  in 
quieting  Joseph's  fears,  set  her  mind  also  at  rest? 
For  this  passage  in  their  lives  must  have  been  a 
crucible  of  fire  to  them  both. 

We  have  now  had,  first,  the  visit  of  the  angel  to 
Zacharias  announcing  the  approaching  birth  of  the 
Elijah  of  the  New  Economy,  with  the  mistrust  and 
penal  dumbness  of  the  aged  priest.     Secondly,  the 


Mary  and  Elizabeth.  375 

scene  of  the  Annunciation  between  Gabriel  and  the 
Virgin.  Thirdly,  the  meeting  of  Mary  and  Eliza- 
beth with  their  inspired  hymns  of  praise,  foreshad- 
owing the  glories  of  the  coming  Immanuel.  But 
the  great  event  is  still  delayed.  One  step  more 
remains.  The  herald  must  precede  his  Prince.  And 
in  due  time  the  son  of  Elizabeth  is  born.  Another 
psalm  rises  to  God :  this  time  from  lips  that  had  for 
nine  months  been  sealed.  The  tongue  of  the  now 
believing  priest  is  loosed,  and  his  paean  of  thanks- 
giving blends  with  those  uttered  long  before  by  his 
exulting  wife  and  the  Virgin  of  Nazareth.  We  see 
in  it  both  the  priest  and  the  father ;  a  beautiful 
blending  of  the  sublime  mission  of  the  coming 
Saviour,  with  the  exalted  honor  assigned  to  the  new- 
born infant  as  the  "  Prophet  of  the  Highest,"  who  was 
to  "  go  before  the  face  of  the  Lord  to  prepare  His 
ways," — the  last  and  sweetest  strain  of  the  Old  Tes- 
tament prophecy  melting  away  into  the  immortal 
song  so  soon  to  resound  through  all  the  aisles  and 
arches  of  the  New  Testament  Church. 

No  further  delay  is  possible.  The  fulness  of  the 
time  has  come.  Joseph  and  Mary  repair  to  Bethle- 
hem, And  there  "  she  brought  forth  her  first-born 
Son,  and  wrapped  Him  in  swaddling-clothes,  and 
laid  Him  in  a  manger."  The  angels  sing  their 
Christmas  carol,  and  ravish  the  midnight  sky  with 
their  unimagined  melody.     The  shepherds  hasten  to 


I'] 6  Alary  and  Elizabeth. 


pay  their  homage  to  the  Divine  Child,  and  return 
"glorifying  and  praising  God  for  all  the  things  that 
they  had  heard  and  seen."  And  later  (probably  after 
the  forty  days  at  the  end  of  which  the  holy  Child  was 
presented  in  the  temple),  the  Magi  come  on  their 
mysterious  errand,  to  lay  the  treasures  of  the  Orient 
at  the  feet  of  the  Infant  Redeemer.  Not  to  dilate 
upon  these  alluring  themes,  we  follow  the  thread  of 
the  Virgin's  history. 

We  meet  them  next,  the  whole  group,  Joseph  and 
Mary  and  the  Child,  at  the  temple.  And  here, 
again,  the  long-cherished  hopes  and  ecstatic  joy  of 
the  great  heart  of  humanity  find  utterance  in  majes- 
tic song.  Again  the  psalmist  is  a  venerable  sage 
whose  piety  had  been  crowned  with  a  distinction  as 
priceless  as  it  was  unusual.  For  it  had  been  re- 
vealed to  him  "  that  he  should  not  see  death  before 
he  had  seen  the  Lord's  Christ."  Till  the  Messiah 
came  Simeon  was  immortal.  No  sickness,  no  acci- 
dent, no  violence  could  reach  him.  Of  all  the  mil- 
lions of  the  human  race  at  that  period,  he  alone 
knew,  when  he  laid  his  head  upon  his  pillow  at 
night,  that  he  would  see  the  morning;  and  when  the 
sun  arose  that  he  would  see  it  set, — unless  the  wished- 
for  advent  should  intervene.  Day  by  day  the  old 
man  went  up  to  the  temple  to  "  wait  for  the  Consola- 
tion of  Israel."  And  when  at  length  the  "  Consola- 
tion of  Israel"  came,  he  took  Him  from  His  mother's 


Mary  and  Elizabeth.  T^yj 

arms  and  sang  his  "  swan-like  song"  of  welcome  to 
the  great  Deliverer.  It  is  a  Jew  who  sings,  but  it  is 
not  a  Jewish  greeting.  The  Child  he  clasps  with 
such  unutterable  joy  is  not  the  Hope  of  his  own  race 
merely,  the  Emancipator  of  the  oppressed  Hebrews : 
but  the  Redeemer  of  the  world.  "  Mine  eyes  have 
seen  Thy  salvation  which  Thou  hast  prepared  before 
the  face  of  all  people ;  a  Light  to  lighten  the  Gen- 
tiles, and  the  glory  of  Thy  people  Israel."  Already 
the  "middle-wall  of  partition"  is  breaking  down; 
and  in  the  distance  the  Gentiles  are  seen  coming  to 
His  light,  and  kings  to  the  brightness  of  His  rising. 
Yet  even  this  festal  scene  must  have  its  shadow. 
While  the  old  Jew  portrays  the  great  salvation,  he 
foresees  that  it  is  to  be  achieved  by  suffering.  To 
reach  His  crown,  this  Child  must  travel  by  the 
cross.  And  into  this  mother's  cup,  to-day  so  full  of 
bliss,  must  be  infused  that  bitterness  which  is  the 
bane  of  all  human  joys.  Not  only  was  her  Child  to 
be  for  a  sign  that  should  be  spoken  against,  but  "  a 
sword  should  pierce  through  her  own  soul  also." 
Mercifully  for  herself,  she  could  not  fathom  the  full 
import  of  this  prediction  now.  But  neither  could  it 
fail  to   alloy  the   transport   of  that    hour.*      Soon 


*  Who  that  has  seen  the  Madonna  di  San  S/'s/o  of  Raphael  can 
ever  forget  the  expression  of  the  Virgin's  face  in  this  greatest  of 
y)aintings  ? 

32* 


2,7 8  Mary  and  Elizabeth. 

enough  was  the  prophecy  interpreted  to  her.  With 
the  opening  of  His  public  ministry  He  began  to 
be  "  spoken  against"  ;  and  every  word  of  reproach 
directed  against  Him,  she  would  feel  as  if  heaped 
upon  herself  These  sorrows,  accumulating  for 
three  years,  at  length  reached  their  crisis  on  that 
memorable  day  when  she  stood  in  mute  anguish  by 
the  cross.  Then  was  Simeon's  touching  prophecy 
fulfilled. 

"  At  the  cross  her  station  keeping, 
Stands  the  mournful  mother  weeping. 

Close  to  Jesus  to  tlie  last : 
Through  her  heart  His  sorrow  sharing, 
All  His  bitter  anguish  bearing, 

Now  at  length  the  sword  has  pass'd  !" 

But  our  errand  to-day  is  at  the  temple.  It  is  not 
enough  that  one  sex  welcomes  the  Saviour.  As  if 
in  grateful  recognition  of  the  exalted  benefits  woman 
was  to  reap  from  His  incarnation,  the  aged  Prophet- 
ess, Anna,  who  "  dwelt  in  the  house  of  the  Lord," 
appears  at  the  instant  and  pronounces  her  benedic- 
tion upon  the  infant.  What  a  group  for  a  painter ! 
What  a  group  for  any  true  disciple  !  Old  Simeon 
standing  by  the  altar  with  the  holy  Child  in  his 
arms;  Mary  in  her  virgin  modesty,  and  Joseph, 
listening  to  his  inspired  words,  and  "  marvelling"  as 
he  speaks;  and  then  this  dear  old  saint  of  fourscore 
and   four,  her    face,  we    must    believe,  radiant  with 


Mary  and  Elizabeth.  379 

celestial  fervor,  coming  in  and  joining  her  blessing 
to  that  of  the  patriarch, — altogether  it  was  a  specta- 
cle worthy  to  engage  the  attention  of  angelic  hosts. 
Can  we  doubt  that  they  folded  their  wings  and  en- 
camped around  it,  enjoying  as  only  angels  could 
enjoy  so  rare  a  convocation  ?  This  service  over, 
Anna,  already  breathing  the  spirit  of  the  New  Dis- 
pensation, "  spake  of  the  Lord  to  all  them  that  were 
looking  for  redemption  in  Jerusalem,"  and  so  be- 
came "  the  first  preacher  of  Christ  in  the  City  of  the 
Great  King." 

Following  what  I  believe  to  be  the  true  harmony 
of  the  several  narratives,  the  visit  of  the  Magi  took 
place,  as  already  hinted,  soon  after  the  presentation 
in  the  temple.  And  then  immediately  occurred  the 
flight  into  Egypt.  Thus  far  the  young  Child  had 
been  heralded  and  greeted  only  by  Hosannas.  But 
this  cannot  last.  He  comes  not  to  triumph  only, 
but  to  suffer:  not  simply  to  be  born,  but  to  die.  A 
few  friendly  hearts,  unknown  to  fame,  tender  Him 
their  grateful  sympathy.  But  even  in  His  helpless 
infancy  He  must  be  made  to  feel  that  the  powers  of 
this  world  are  against  Him.  Its  true  spirit  was  in- 
carnate in  Herod  the  Great,  a  very  monster  of 
cruelty.  Attempts  have  been  made  to  discredit 
Matthew's  narrative  of  his  plot  for  the  destruction 
of  Jesus,  chiefly  on  the  ground  that  Josephus  does 
not  mention  it.     But  (i)  this  is  merely  negative  evi- 


380  Mary  mid  Elizabeth. 

dence.  His  silence  proves  nothing.  (2)  It  is  easily 
accounted  for.  Josephus  wrote  as  a  Jew.  Incredi- 
ble as  it  might  seem,  he  devotes  but  a  single  brief 
paragraph  to  the  entire  history  of  Jesus  Christ, 
although  born  only  four  years  after  the  crucifixion, 
and  necessarily  conversant  with  the  great  events  of 
His  life.  He  could  not  well  refer  to  the  "  murder  of 
the  innocents"  without  saying  more  of  the  birth  and 
character  of  Jesus  than  he  cared  to  say.  (3)  Sup- 
posing him  to  have  known  of  this  transaction,  it 
would  be  too  much  eclipsed  by  other  barbarities  of 
Herod  to  make  any  deep  impression  upon  his  mind. 
For  he  takes  rank  with  those  demi-fiends  who  have 
found  their  recreation  in  deeds  of  blood.  He  slew 
his  subjects  by  wholesale.  He  put  to  death  his  wife 
Mariamne  and  her  three  sons,  the  last  of  them  a  few 
days  only  before  his  own  death.  His  thirst  for 
blood  was  not  slaked  even  at  the  end  of  seventy 
years,  and  when  his  last  illness  was  consciously 
hastening  to  rid  the  world  of  him.  For  even  then, 
knowing  that  the  nation  would  rejoice  over  his  re- 
moval, he  issued  a  secret  order  (happily  not  carried 
out)  directing  that  the  principal  men  of  Jerusalem 
should  be  shut  up  in  the  Hippodrome,  and  executed 
as  soon  as  he  ceased  to  breathe,  that  so  there  might 
be  mourning  in  Jerusalem  for  them  if  the  people 
would  not  mourn  for  him.  What  figure  would  the 
slaughter  of  a  few  infants  make  in  the  career  of  such 


Mary  and  Elisabeth.  38 1 

a  demon?  And  then  (4)  it  is  not  certain  that  Jose- 
phiis  had  heard  of  this  event.  The  murder  of  the 
children,  possibly,  was  a  very  different  affair  from 
that  depicted  with  such  effect  by  the  painters;  differ- 
ent from  the  view  conveyed  to  our  own  minds  by  a 
casual  reading  of  the  Evangelist.  It  has  been  com- 
puted that  the  children  of  two  years  old  and  under, 
in  the  vicinity  of  Bethlehem,  did  not  number  more 
than  ten  or  twelve :  we  may  be  tolerably  certain 
there  were  not  above  a  score.  Nor  are  we  shut  up 
to  any  specific  theory  as  to  the  method  of  disposing 
of  them.  Whatever  our  traditional  belief,  it  must 
seem  highly  improbable,  on  reflection,  that  Herod 
should  have  commissioned  a  band  of  soldiers  to  ran- 
sack the  district  and  openly  massacre  the  doomed 
children.  He  was  not  so  penurious  in  his  arts  and 
implements  of  cruelty  as  this.  For  myself,  at  least, 
I  incline  to  adopt  the  exposition  suggested  by  a 
writer  already  quoted  in  this  discourse  as  follows: 

"  It  was  Spring.  The  parents  were  for  the  most 
part  occupied  in  the  fields.  Soon,  however,  first  one, 
and  then  another,  missed  one  of  their  children.  One 
disappeared.  Another  was  found  suffocated,  poi- 
soned, or  stabbed,  and  bathed  in  its  own  blood.  In 
these  mysterious  and  dreadful  events,  however,  one 
strange  feature  of  resemblance  uniformly  prevailed  ; 
viz.,  that  only  boys  were  slain,  and  none  over  two 
years  old.     The  number  of  these  unfortunates  could 


;82  Maiy  and  Elizabeth. 


not  be  great ;  but  the  suffering  and  fear  were  terribly 
increased  by  the  mystery  and  inevitable  nature  of  the 
danger.  Whence  these  terrible  assassinations  arose, 
no  political  writer,  and  no  Jew  except  the  hired  mur- 
derers could  know.  But  Christian  feeling,  which 
had  been  warned  against  the  attempts  of  the  tyrant 
\scil.  by  the  '  wise  men  ?'],  and  knew  the  meaning 
of  the  circumstance  that  the  slain  children  were 
two  years  old  and  under,  could  say  with  certainty: 
'  Herod  is  the  originator  of  this  deed.'  "  *  However 
that  may  have  been,  the  parties  most  deeply  inter- 
ested were  far  away  from  the  seat  of  danger.  For, 
apprised  by  an  angel  of  the  tyrant's  designs,  Joseph 
and  Mary  with  the  Child  had  already  gone  down  to 
Egypt.  According  to  the  best  chronologists,  their 
sojourn  there  was  brief,  for  Herod  survived  this 
last  feat  of  brutal  violence  but  a  very  short  time. 
Again  the  angel  visits  Joseph  and  recalls  them  from 
their  exile.  They  return  to  Palestine  but  not  to  Beth- 
lehem. Under  heavenly  guidance,  they  go  back  to 
their  own  city,  and  Nazareth  becomes  for  thirty  years 
the  home  of  the  Incarnate  Word,  "  God  manifest  in 
the  flesh." 

It  is  time  to  pause ;  although  we  have  advanced 
only  a  very  few  steps  in  the  history  of  the  Virgin, 
In  its  early  chapters,  her  life  is  intertwined  with  the 

*  Lance. 


Mary  and  Elizabeth.  383 

life  of  her  "  First-born."  Nothing  pertaining  to  His 
infancy  can  be  unimportant  to  us.  Concise  and  frag- 
mentary as  the  record  is,  it  must  impress  every 
thoughtful  mind  with  the  wisdom  and  might  of  that 
benign  Providence  which  controls  all  creatures  and 
all  events.  In  raising  up  a  woman  like  Mary,  of  the 
"  seed  royal,"  to  become  the  mother  of  our  Lord ; 
in  providing  for  her  at  a  season  of  the  utmost  need, 
a  prudent,  devout,  and  sympathizing  friend  like  Eliz- 
abeth ;  in  keeping  her  reputation  spotless  in  the 
eyes  of  her  husband,  and  enlisting  him  as  the  grate- 
ful protector  of  her  life  and  character ;  in  preparing 
competent  witnesses  to  bear  inspired  testimony  to 
the  rank  and  mission  of  her  Child  ;  in  sheltering  her 
and  her  Infant  from  the  fury  of  an  insane  tyrant  who 
could  make  the  resources  of  a  kingdom  subservient 
to  his  malevolent  purposes, — how  much  is  there  in 
all  this  to  illustrate  the  wonder-working  Providence 
of  God  ! 

Again,  what  a  prophetic  picture  have  we  in  these 
scenes  of  the  future  of  Christ  and  His  Church  ! 
Look  at  the  variety  of  characters  grouped  together 
here, — Joseph,  Mary,  Elizabeth,  Zacharias,  Simeon, 
Anna,  the  Shepherds,  the  Magi,  Herod, — all  perma- 
nent types,  representing  classes  to  be  reproduced 
wherever  the  Gospel  should  be  preached ;  all  exem- 
plifying more  or  less  distinctly  the  influence  of  a 
Saviour's  birth  and  doctrine  upon  the  human  heart. 


;S4  Mary  and  Elizabeth. 


Now  as  then,  there  are  doubters  Hke  Zacharias 
among  the  believing.  There  are  disciples  like  Mary 
and  Elizabeth,  whose  lives  are  a  perpetual  psalm  of 
praise  to  the  Messiah.  There  are  faithful  sentinels 
who  stand  like  Simeon  and  Anna  upon  their  watch- 
towers,  waiting  and  yearning  for  the  second  cornxn^ 
of  the  "  Consolation  of  Israel."  There  are  gen- 
erous souls  like  the  Eastern  sages  that  never  weary 
in  bringing  their  gifts  of  gold  and  frankincense 
and  myrrh,  and  casting  them  at  the  Saviour's  feet. 
And  there  are  atheistic  philosophers  and  savage 
rulers  who,  like  Herod,  anathematize  Jesus  of  Naza- 
reth, and  would  gladly  extirpate  His  religion. 

Let  us  see  to  it  that  we  take  our  place  among  those 
who  deem  it  their  highest  honor  to  do  honor  to  the 
Son  of  Mary.  In  the  unwavering  faith,  the  humility, 
the  courage,  the  gentleness,  the  sympathy,  the  holy 
love  and  constancy,  which  graced  her  character,  we 
have  an  example  worthy  of  our  devout  study,  and 
eminently  fitted  to  draw  even  our  unbelieving  hearts 
heavenward.  And  remember — that  whatever  of  rev- 
erence or  admiration  you  may  now  profess  for  her,  in 
her  esteem  and,  what  is  infinitely  more,  in  the  award 
of  her  God  and  yours  at  the  last  day,  it  will  all  go 
for  naught — nay,  it  will  turn  to  your  everlasting  un- 
doing— if  you  refuse  to  receive  and  serve  the  Son  of 
her  love  as  your  only  Saviour. 


THE   CHRISTIAN    MINISTRY   NOT   A 
PRIESTHOOD. 


I.  Timothy  iii.  i. 


"  Tills  is  a  true  saying,  If  a  man  desire  the  office  of 
a  bishop,  he  desirctJi  a  good  work.'' 

Whole  libraries  have  been  written  on  the  thesis 
propounded  in  this  sentence:  "the  office  of  a  Bishop." 
The  controversy  respecting  it  involves  the  very  na- 
ture, as  well  as  the  constitution,  of  the  Christian 
Ministry.  On  both  these  points  conflicting  and  in- 
compatible theories  have  long  divided  the  Church. 
A  full  discussion  of  these  theories  would  be  quite 
impracticable  within  the  limits  of  an  ordinary  dis- 
course; but  the  general  subject  may  properly  en- 
gage our  attention  on  an  occasion  like  the  present. 

There  are  two  leading  theories  on  the  nature,  and 
two  on  the  constitution,  of  the  Ministry.  Waiving 
the  consideration  of  the  latter  of  these  topics,  except 
in  a  very  cursory  way,  the  doctrine  held  by  our  own 
Church,   and  by  most   of  the   Protestant   churches, 

33  385 


386  The  Christian  Ministry 

concerning  the  former,  is,  that  the  Ministry  has  been 
constituted  to  feed,  and,  in  conjunction  with  the  rep- 
resentatives of  the  people,  to  govern  the  Church  ; 
that  its  chief  functions  are,  to  preach  the  Gospel  and 
administer  the  sacraments  of  Baptism  and  the  Lord's 
Supper,  together  with  the  exercise  of  discipline  ;  and 
that  "  its  power  is  wholly  moral,  or  spiritual,  and 
tliat  only  ministerial  or  declarative."  * 

According  to  the  other  view,  the  Christian  Minis- 
try is  a  Priesthood.  The  radical  idea  of  Priesthood 
is  that  of  mediation  between  God  and  man.  A  priest 
is  "  one  who  stands  as  a  mediator  between  God  and 
the  people,  and  brings  them  to  God  by  virtue  of  cer- 
tain ceremonial  acts  which  he  performs  for  them,  and 
which  they  could  not  perform  for  themselves  without 
profanation,  because  they  are  at  a  distance  from 
God,  and  cannot,  in  their  own  persons,  venture  to 
approach  towards  Him."  The  leading  function  of 
the  Levitical  priests  was  to  offer  sacrifices.  "  For 
every  high-priest,  taken  from  among  men,  is  or- 
dained for  men  in  things  pertaining  to  God,"  is  set 
apart  to  transact  with  God  on  behalf  of  men,  and  for 
their  good,  "  that  he  may  offer  both  gifts  and  sacri- 
fices for  sin."  The  whole  structure  of  the  Mosaic 
system  was  designed  to  impress  the  chosen  people 
with  a  profound  sense  of  the  Divine  majesty  and 


*  Fonn  of  Government  of  the  I'leshyteiian  Chuicli,  Cliap.  VIII. 


Not  a  Priesthood.  387 

purity,  and  of  the  essential  turpitude  of  sin.  Every 
part  of  its  complicated  ritual  admonished  them  that 
they  could  have  no  friendly  intercourse  with  a  holy 
God,  except  through  a  mediator.  Aaron  and  his 
sons  were  the  constituted  media  of  communication 
between  them  and  the  Deity.  The  endless  infrac- 
tions of  the  theocratic  code,  of  which  they  were  per- 
petually guilty,  could  be  expiated  only  through  the 
intervention  of  the  priest.  Nor  was  it  for  the  pur- 
poses of  atonement  and  intercession  simply  that  his 
agency  must  be  invoked.  It  was  no  less  indispensa- 
ble in  all  their  civil  and  martial  transactions  ;  in  their 
battles  and  in  theii"  journeys  ;  in  their  husbandry  and 
in  their  trafficking;  in  their  public  assemblies,  and 
in  the  familiar  routine  of  domestic  life.  Every- 
where, on  opening  the  Old  Testament,  we  see  the 
priest  standing  before  the  altar, — at  once  the  most 
urgent  necessity,  and  the  most  expressive  epitome, 
of  the  system. 

Rome  has  transferred  this  element,  the  very  heart 
and  core  of  the  Mosaic  dispensation,  into  the  new 
economy.  The  priesthood  is  perpetuated  m  the  Chris- 
tian Church.  And  since  a  priesthood  implies  the 
offering  of  sacrifice,  she  has  transmuted  the  simplest 
of  rites,  the  Lord's  Supper,  into  the  veritable  and 
ever-recurring  sacrifice  of  the  Son  of  God ;  and  chal- 
lenges for  her  "priests"  the  prerogative  of  absolv- 
ing transgressors  from  the  penalty  of  the  Divine  law. 


388  The  Christian  Ministry 


"  If  any  one  shall  say  (so  she  has  ordained)  that 
there  is  not  in  the  New  Testament  a  visible  and  ex- 
ternal priesthood,  or  that  there  is  no  power  in  it  of 
consecrating  and  offering  the  very  body  and  blood 
of  the  Lord,  and  of  remitting  and  retaining  sins,  but 
only  an  office  of  the  bare  ministry  of  preaching  the 
Gospel ;  or,  that  those  who  do  not  preach  the  Gospel 
are  not  priests,  let  him  be  anatlicma!'^  They  stand 
where  the  Aaronic  priests  stood,  between  God  and 
man.  There  can  be  no  acceptable  approach  to  God 
except  through  them  ;  no  pardon  except  through 
their  impetration  and  the  sacrifice  of  the  mass. 
Whoever  would  be  reconciled  to  God,  whoever 
would  be  cleansed  from  sin,  whoever  would  receive 
an  answer  to  his  prayers,  whoever  would  triumph 
over  death,  must  invoke  the  mediation  of  the  priest. 
The  sacrifice  he  presents,  and  the  sacraments  he  ad- 
ministers, are  clothed  with  an  efficacy  which  meets 
every  want  and  provides  for  every  exigency  of  our 
moral  nature.  And  no  one  need  fear  for  the  result 
who  is  willing  to  confide  the  whole  business  of  his 
salvation  to  his  priest. 

The  germs  of  this  system  are  to  be  detected  in  the 
Church  at  a  very  early  period.  "  Whilst  the  least  prob- 
ability remained  that  Jerusalem  might,  at  one  time  or 
other,  again  rear  its  head  from  the  dust,  the  Christian 

*  Cuuncil  of  Trent,  Session  XXIII. 


Not  a  Priesthood.  389 

teachers  and  elders  assumed  to  themselves  no  titles 
or  distinctions,  at  least  none  but  the  most  modest 
and  humble  ones.  But  when  the  fate  of  that  glo- 
rious city  had  been  finally  sealed  by  Hadrian,  and 
not  the  most  distant  hope  could  any  longer  be  enter- 
tained by  the  Jews  of  seeing  their  ancient  govern- 
ment re-established,  these  same  pastors  and  ministers, 
for  the  most  part,  conceived  a  wish  to  have  it  believed 
by  their  flocks  that  they  themselves  had  succeeded 
to  the  rights  of  the  Jewish  priesthood.  The  bishops, 
therefore,  made  it  their  business  thenceforward  to 
inculcate  the  notion  that  they  were  invested  with  a 
character  resembling  that  of  the  great  high-priest  of 
the  Jews,  and  were  consequently  possessed  of  all 
those  rights  which  had  been  recognized  as  belonging 
to  the  Jewish  pontiff.  The  functions  of  the  ordinary 
Jewish  priests  were,  in  like  manner,  stated  to  have 
devolved,  though  under  a  more  perfect  form,  on  the 
presbyters  of  the  Christian  Church  ;  and,  finally,  the 
deacons  were  placed  on  a  parallel  with  the  Lcuites, 
or  inferior  ministers  of  the  temple."* 

These  distinctions,  originating  in  the  ambition  of 
the  ecclesiastics,  and  stimulated  by  the  reproaches 
cast  alike  by  Jews  and  pagans  upon  the  simplicity  of 
the  Christian  ritual,  gradually  assumed  more  and 
more    of  the    sacerdotal    type,   until    at    length   the 

*  Mosheim's  Commentaries. 


2,go  The  Christian  Ministry 

clergy  set  up  the  monstrous  assumption  of  exclusive 
mediatorship  between  heaven  and  earth,  and  the 
Church  was  loaded  with  the  brilliant  but  galling 
chains  of  a  Levitical  bondage. 

The  grossness  of  this  system  might  seem  sufficient 
to  repel  any  intelligent  and  serious  reader  of  the  New 
Testament ;  and  yet,  the  radical  principle  which  per- 
vades it  has  been  adopted  and  elaborately  vindicated 
by  large  numbers  of  so-called  Protestant  prelates  and 
clergymen,  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic.  Like 
Rome,  they  make  the  ministry  a  "priesthood"  ;  and 
present  to  the  world  the  anomaly  of  a  sacerdotal 
Christianity.  The  house  of  God  is  a  "  temple,"  with 
its  "  altar"  and  its  "  sacrifice"  ;  and  they  are  the  hiero- 
phants  who  celebrate  its  "  mysteries."  They  consti- 
tute, with  the  priesthood  of  the  other  hierarchies,  the 
only  legitimate  channel  of  spiritual  communion  be- 
tween this  world  and  heaven.  If  one  would  worship 
God,  he  must  wait  upon  their  ministrations ;  for  they 
alone  have  free  access  to  the  mercy- seat.  If  he 
would  be  pardoned,  forgiveness  comes  only  through 
their  intervention.  If  he  would  obtain  renewing  and 
sanctifying  grace,  he  must  receive  the  sacraments  at 
their  hands.  For,  they  only  have  "  the  gift  of  the 
Holy  Ghost" ;  they  are  the  stewards  of  the  Church, 
— the  depository  of  Divine  grace  ;  and  this  grace  it 
is  their  prerogative  to  dispense  in  baptism  and  the 
Lord's  Supper.     The  Eucharist,  of  course,  is  a  "sac- 


Not  a  Priesthood.  39 1 

rifice"  ;  and  they  are  empowered  to  pronounce  an 
authoritative  absolution  upon  all  in  whose  behalf 
they  "  offer"  it. 

Without  enlarging  on  the  details  of  this  system,  it 
must  be  apparent  that  there  are  no  powers  exercised 
by  any  set  of  men,  of  whatever  nation  or  country, 
paramount  to  those  which  are  challenged  for  this 
pretended  priesthood.  They  claim,  in  effect,  to  be 
the  vicegerents  of  the  Deity.  They  are,  in  a  sense, 
the  arbiters  of  our  destiny.  The  keys  have  been 
placed  in  their  custody,  and  our  salvation  or  perdi- 
tion is  suspended  upon  their  using  one  or  the  other 
of  them  as  they  may  see  fit ! 

We  have  a  right  to  demand,  that  an  order  of  men 
who  arrogate  to  themselves  prerogatives  like  these, 
shall  produce  the  clearest  possible  credentials ;  that 
nothing  shall  be  wanting  to  authenticate  their  com- 
mission in  the  most  unequivocal  manner ;  and  that 
they  shall  be  able  to  show  us,  in  that  volume  to 
which  they  and  we  appeal  as  the  charter  of  the 
Church,  the  statute  which  creates  their  order  and 
defines  its  powers,  its  functions,  and  its  ceremonial. 
The  Levitical  priests  could  do  this.  No  inconsider- 
able portion  of  the  last  four  books  of  the  Pentateuch 
is  devoted  to  them.  For  every  jot  and  tittle  of  their 
system,  from  the  august  rites  of  the  great  day  of 
atonement  down  to  the  very  fringe  of  their  robes 
and  the  pins  of  the  tabernacle,  they  could  produce  a 


392  The  CJudstian  Ministry 

"Thus  saith  the  Lord."  And  from  men  who  claim 
to  have  been  armed  with  loftier  powers  than  were 
ever  conferred  upon  the  sons  of  Aaron,  the  world 
cannot  be  expected  to  put  up  with  a  less  authorita- 
tive warrant. 

What,  then,  must  be  thought  of  these  soaring  pre- 
tensions, when  it  is  stated  that  not  only  is  there  no 
decree  creating  such  an  order  to  be  found,  but  that 
the  New  Testament  does  not  contain  one  word  about 
an  official  human  priesthood  in  the  Christian  Church  ? 
To  estimate  the  force  of  this  omission,  it  must  be 
considered,  that  down  to  the  period  of  the  Saviour's 
ascension,  a  religion  without  a  priesthood  was  a  novelty 
unheard  of  among  mankind,* — as,  indeed,  with  the 
solitary  exception  of  Christianity  (I  am  speaking,  it 
will  be  understood,  of  an  earthly  priesthood),  it  is 
unknown  to  this  day.  What  would  the  gorgeous 
mythology  of  Greece,  or  that  of  Rome,  have  been 
without  the  priest  and  the  sacrifice?  Abstract  the 
sacerdotal  element,  and  what  would  remain  of  Bud- 
dhism, of  Lamaism,  or  of  any  of  the  countless  forms 
of  idolatry  with  which  the  earth  is  cursed  ?  In  each 
and  all  of  these  cases,  the  principle  is  not  so  much 
an  adjunct  of  the  system  as  the  system  itself;  not  the 
mere  anatomy,  but  nerves,  arteries,  muscles,  every- 
thing.    And  this  was  as  true  of  Judaism  as  it  is  of 


*  Dr.  Whalely  has  suggested  this  tliought. 


Not  a  Pnesthood.  '   393 

the  false  religions.  It  would  scarcely  savor  of  extrava- 
gance to  say,  that  men  trained  as  the  apostles  had  been, 
could  not,  except  through  a  special  baptism  of  the 
Spirit,  have  conceived  of  a  religion  without  a  human 
priesthood.  There  was  no  sentiment  more  sacredly 
enshrined  in  their  national  cultiis,  no  lesson  set  forth 
with  greater  solemnity  in  their  daily  worship,  than 
that  the  intervention  of  the  priest  was  indispensable 
to  their  coming  acceptably  into  the  presence  of  God. 
With  such  power  had  this  conviction  intrenched 
itself  in  the  popular  mind,  so  completely  were  all 
their  mental  habits  and  associations  transfused  with 
the  ancient  leaven,  that  the  Jewish  converts  resisted 
to  the  utmost  the  doctrine  that  Christianity  was  to 
annul  and  supersede  their  own  ritual. 

In  the  view  of  facts  like  these,  it  is  a  most  remark- 
able and  significant  circumstance  that,  in  passing 
from  the  Old  Testament  to  the  New,  we  should  leave 
behind  the  whole  vocabulary  of  terms  proper  to  a 
sacerdotal  system.  The  writers  seem  no  longer  to 
be  Jews.  The  faith  of  which  they  are  the  accredited 
historians  and  expositors  knows  no  Priest  except 
Jesus  of  Nazareth,  no  sacrifice  except  the  "Lamb 
of  God,"  no  Mediator  except  Him  "  who  ever  liveth 
to  make  intercession  for  us."  His  people  are  styled 
"  a  holy  priesthood" ;  and  are  said  to  offer  up 
"  spiritual  sacrifices."  But  the  terms  "  priest"  and 
"  sacrifice"  are  not  once  applied  in  the  New  Testa- 


394  T^^^  Christian  Ministry 

ment  to  Christian  ministers,  as  such,  and  their  official 
functions. 

It  has,  indeed,  been  claimed  that  there  is  a  single 
passage  which  constitutes  an  exception  to  this  re- 
mark, to  wit,  Rom.  XV.  i6:  "That  I  should  be 
the  minister  of  Jesus  Christ  to  the  Gentiles,  minister- 
ing i^itpoufiyoo'^ra)  the  Gospel  of  God,  that  the  offering 
up  {iz{Ht5(pi)pa>j  6f  the  Gentiles  might  be  acceptable, 
being  sanctified  by  the  Holy  Ghost."  Here,  we  are 
told,  the  apostle  describes  himself  as  "  ministering  as 
a  priest  the  Gospel  of  God,  that  the  sacrificing  of  the 
Gentiles  might  be  acceptable."  That  he  compares 
himself  to  the  Jewish  priests  is  certain ;  but  that 
he  makes  himself  a  priest  in  the  Christian  Church, 
is  an  interpretation  which  requires  the  "  offering  up 
of  the  Gentiles"  to  be  taken  as  a  literal  "  sacrifice," 
for  which  no  one  has  yet  contended.  The  whole 
phraseology  is  figurative,  and,  in  the  circumstances 
of  the  writer  of  the  Epistle,  equally  natural  and  ex- 
pressive. Dr.  Whitby's  comment  on  the  verse  is  as 
follows  :  "  Here  is  a  plain  allusion  to  the  Jewish  sac- 
rifices offered  by  the  priest,  and  sanctified  or  made 
acceptable  and  savory  by  the  Lihainen  offered  with 
it:  for  he  compares  himself,  in  the  preaching  of  the 
Go.spel,  to  the  priest,  sacris  operand,  conversant  about 
his  sacrifice,  to  prepare  and  fit  it  to  be  offered.  The 
Gentiles  dedicated  by  him  to  the  service  of  God, 
are  his  sacrifice  or  oblation  ;  the  Holy  Spirit  is  the 


Not  a  Priesthood.  395 


Libamen  poured  on  this  sacrifice,  by  which  they  are 
sanctified  and  rendered  acceptable  to  God." 

It  has  been  further  argued  that  the  New  Testa- 
ment recognizes  the  Christian  ministry  as  a  priest- 
hood, since  they  are  intrusted  with  "  the  power  of 
the  keys,"  which  is  explained  to  mean  "  the  power 
of  forgiving  sin."  To  this  it  is  a  sufficient  reply, 
that  whatever  the  power  of  binding  and  loosing  may 
denote,  the  efficacious  remission  of  sin  is  not  a  sacer- 
dotal but  a  judicial  function.  We  need  not,  there- 
fore, stop  to  inquire  whether  the  right  of  absolution 
appertains  to  the  Christian  ministry;  for  even  if  they 
had  that  right  (which  they  certainly  have  not,  in  the 
Romish  sense  of  the  term),  it  would  not  prove  them 
to  be  priests. 

Had  it  been  the  design  of  the  Saviour  to  perpet- 
uate the  ancient  priesthood,  or  to  institute  a  new 
order  of  priests  in  His  Church,  ?Ie  could  not  have 
failed  to  announce  it  in  sending  forth  His  apostles. 
But  neither  in  the  mission  of  the  seventy,  nor  in  the 
first  or  second  mission  of  the  twelve,  have  we  the 
least  intimation  of  such  a  purpose.  Rarely  has  our 
globe  been  the  theatre  of  a  more  imposing  ceremo- 
nial than  that  with  which  Aaron  and  his  successors 
were  consecrated  to  the  Jewish  priesthood.  God 
Himself  was  pleased  to  prescribe  every  part  of  the 
service,  down  to  the  fabric,  the  form,  and  the  decora- 
tions of  their  vestments  ;  and  on  the  appointed  da}', 


396  The  Christia7t  Ministry 

in  the  presence  of  the  assembled  miUions  of  Israel 
they  were  inducted  into  office.  The  time  would 
fail  me  to  describe  this  august  solemnity, — the  in- 
vestiture of  the  high-priest  with  his  gorgeous  in- 
signia, the  anointing  with  oil,  the  sin-offering,  the 
burnt-offering,  the  ram  of  consecration,  the  sprink- 
ling of  blood,  the  seven  days  and  nights  of  seclusion 
in  the  tabernacle,  and  the  series  of  sacrifices  which 
followed,  for  the  priests  and  the  people.  On  these 
details  we  cannot  dwell.  But  contrast  with  this 
stately  pageant  the  corresponding  transaction  under 
the  new  economy,  the  inauguration  of  the  Cliristian 
ministry.  No  concourse  of  awe-struck  and  admir- 
ing spectators  meets  us  here ;  no  ephod  nor  mitre, 
no  temple  nor  altar,  no  smoking  holocaust  nor  fra- 
grant incense.  The  sacerdotal  paraphernalia  all  dis- 
appear ;  and  in  place  thereof  a  spectacle  presents 
itself,  the  sublime  simplicity  of  which  symbolizes  the 
essential  diversity  between  the  preliminary  and  the 
final  dispensation.  The  Saviour  of  the  world,  about 
to  ascend  to  heaven,  calls  His  eleven  apostles  around 
Him,  and  bids  them  "  go  into  all  the  world  and 
preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature,  baptizing  them 
in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of 
the  Holy  Ghost."  And  these  men,  anointed  with 
the  Spirit,  went  forth  to  their  work.*     Clad  in  their 

*  Slratten's  "  Book  of  the  Priesthood"  has  a  fine  passage  on  this 
topic.    , 


Not  a  Pi'iesthood.  397 

ordinary  vestments,  and  disencumbered  of  all  Levit- 
ical  implements,  they  addressed  themselves  to  their 
mission  as  men  who  were  "  not  ashamed  of  the  Gos- 
pel of  Christ."  "  Beginning  at  Jerusalem,"  with  such 
energy  did  they  wield  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  that 
at  the  close  of  their  first  day's  labors  three  thousand 
converts  stood  up  to  testify  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth, 
whom  their  rulers  "  had  taken  and  with  wicked 
hands  had  crucified  and  slain,"  was,  indeed,  their 
promised  Messiah, — "  the  Mighty  God,  the  ever- 
lasting FEATHER,  the  Prince  of  Peace."  This  re- 
splendent victory  achieved,  they  scattered  abroad 
through  all  the  circumjacent  regions,  sowing  broad- 
cast the  seed  of  the  incorruptible  word.  They 
erected  no  altars.  They  consecrated  no  priests. 
They  offered  no  sacrifices.  They  bade  no  Israelite 
go  up  to  Jerusalem  to  worship.  No  utterance  fell 
from  their  lips  about  the  sanctity  of  the  temple,  or 
the  efficacy  of  its  rites.  Spurning  the  swaddling- 
bands  of  the  old  economy,  they  neither  confined 
their  ministrations  to  "  holy  places,"  nor  restricted 
them  to  the  chosen  people.  They  preached,  indif- 
ferently, in  the  synagogues  and  in  the  streets,  in 
prisons  and  in  palaces,  in  the  desert  and  on  the 
strand,  to  the  Macedonian  women  by  the  river-side 
at  Philippi,  and  to  the  sages  of  Athens  on  the  crest 
of  the  Areopagus.  And  so  far  from  offering  tJieni- 
sclves  as  "  mediators"  with  God,  to  replace  the  now 

34 


398  The  Christimi  Ministry 

abrogated  priesthood  of  the  house  of  Aaron,  there 
was  nothing  they  repelled  with  such  instinctive  hor- 
ror as  any  attempt  to  exalt  them  to  this  dignity  or 
to  pay  them  sacerdotal  homage,  (See  Acts  iii.  12; 
X.  25,  26;  xiv.  11-18.)  They  constantly  proclaimed 
that  he  who  planted  was  nothing,  and  he  who  watered 
nothing ;  and  that  to  trust  in  them  or  their  min- 
istrations was  to  dishonor  their  Master.  Their 
one  grand,  absorbing,  delightful  theme,  was  "Jesus 
Christ  and  Him  crucified."  Their  only  aim  was 
so  to  exalt  the  Saviour  of  the  world  that  they  and 
their  gifts  and  miracles  should  be  lost  sight  of 
Jesus  Christ  as  the  only  Priest,  the  only  Altar,  the 
only  Sacrifice,  the  only  Intercessor,  of  the  new 
dispensation, — this  was  the  burden  of  their  teachings 
in  all  lands  and  with  people  of  every  faith  and  every 
school  of  philosophy.  Addressing  themselves  to 
the  universal  necessity  of  the  race,  they  hastened 
from  city  to  city,  and  from  province  to  province, 
crying,  "  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God,  who  taketh 
AWAY  the  sin  of  THE  WORLD."  The  slumbering 
nations  were  stirred  by  the  unwonted  sound  to  their 
lowest  depths ;  and  the  victory  of  Pentecost,  re- 
peated in  different  and  distant  lands,  authenticated 
the  doctrine  as  divine,  and  confounded  those  who 
would  have  impeached  the  one  exclusive,  unchange- 
able, and  efficacious  Priesthood  of  Jesus  Christ  in 
the  New  Testament  Church. 


Not  a  Priesthood.  399 


We  appeal,  then,  to  the  entire  structure  of  the 
New  Testament,  and  especially  to  the  absence  of 
all  sacerdotal  terms  and  titles  as  applied  to  the 
office-bearers  in  the  Church,  as  our  first  argument 
to  prove  that  the  Christian  Ministry  is  not  a 
Priesthood. 

Our  second  argument  has  just  been  hinted.  The 
doctrine  of  an  official  human  priesthood  in  the 
Church,  is  in  a  high  degree  derogatory  to  the  Lord 
yesHs  Christ  as  the  only  Priest  of  the  new  dispensa- 
tion. 

No  one  imbued  with  a  becoming  reverence  for  the 
Deity  would  permit  himself  to  disparage  the  Leviti- 
cal  economy.  That  economy  was  impressed  with 
the  wisdom  and  goodness  which  mark  all  the  Divine 
institutions.  Not  only  was  the  sacerdotal  element 
which  pervaded  it  in  harmony  with  its  general  theo- 
cratic character,  but  it  was  indispensable  to  the 
fulfilment  of  its  ends,  as  a  preliminary  and  typical 
dispensation.  Its  priesthood  was  a  real  priesthood, 
and,  within  the  prescribed  sphere,  their  rites  had  a 
genuine  efficacy, — because  they  pointed  to  the  great 
High-Priest  and  the  true  sacrifice. 

But  what  place  is  there  for  an  earthly  priesthood 
now  ?  The  antitype  has  appeared.  The  victim  has 
been  slain.  The  High-Priest,  heralded  by  the  long 
succession  of  Aaronic  priests,  and  by  all  the  sacri- 
fices which  smoked  on  Patriarchal  and  Jewish  altars. 


400  The  Christian  Ministry 

during  the  lapse  of  forty  centuries,  has  died  for  His 
people  and  risen  again,  and  now  intercedes  for  and 
reigns  over  them.  What  joom  is  there  for  another 
priest  ?  What  remains  for  a  priest  to  do  ?  What 
powers  can  he  exercise,  what  offices  can  he  perform, 
without  invading  Christ's  prerogative  and  impugn- 
ing the  perfection  of  His  Priesthood  ? 

This  is  the  unanswerable  argument  of  the  apostle 
in  resisting  the  Levitical  tendencies  of  the  Hebrew 
converts,  and  the  proud  assumptions  of  the  priests 
Avho  still  clung  to  the  ancient  ritual.  In  opposition 
to  their  conceits,  he  contrasts  with  the  number  and 
succession  of  the  Jewish  priests,  and  the  frequency, 
variety,  and  mere  ceremonial  value  of  their  offerings, 
the  glorious  High-Priest  of  the  Gospel,  His  Divinity, 
His  holiness.  His  immutability.  His  immortality,  the 
efficacy  of  His  sacrifice  and  the  prevalency  of  His 
intercession.  And  he  shows,  with  a  massive  logic 
impregnable  to  all  cavillers,  that  the  Priesthood  of 
Christ  had  superseded  the  priesthood  of  Aaron,  and 
that  it  was  impossible  to  amalgamate  the  sacerdotal 
ritualism  of  the  temple  with  the  free  worship  of  the 
Christian  sanctuary. 

His  great  argument  on  this  subject  must  be  too 
familiar  to  this  venerable  Assembly  to  make  specific 
quotations  necessary.  If  that  argument  was  concluy 
sive  as  against  Levitical  zealots,  it  is  no  less  conclu- 
sive as  against  the  innovators  of  later  times,  who 


Not  a  Pnesthood.  401 

would  turn  our  sanctuaries  into  "  temples,"  recon- 
struct the  decayed  altars  of  Judaism,  thrust  the  min- 
istry of  reconciliation  into  the  place  of  the  one  Medi- 
ator between  God  and  man,  and  bring  back  upon  the 
Church  the  dimness  and  the  uncertainty  and  the 
fearfulness  of  her  childhood,  in  place  of  the  efful- 
gence which  streams  down  upon  her  from  the  full- 
orbed  glories  of  her  meridian  sun.  For  what  less 
than  this  has  been  done  by  the  Papal  and  Oriental 
hierarchies  ?  And  what  less  are  those  semi-papists 
aiming  at  who  would  unprotestantize  the  churches 
of  the  Reformation,  by  transmuting  the  ministry 
into  a  sacerdotal  order,  and  clothing  them  with  the 
attributes  of  an  official  mediatorship  between  their 
fellow-sinners  and  the  Creator  ?  "  Brethren,  we  are 
7iot  children  of  the  bond-woman,  but  of  the  free. 
Stand  fast,  therefore,  in  the  liberty  wherewith  Christ 
hath  made  us  free,  and  be  not  entangled  again  with 
the  yoke  of  bondage." 

In  the  third  place,  the  Scriptures  exclude  this 
theory,  by  teaching  that  men  may  come  to  Christ  and 
be  accepted  by  Him,  without  the  interventiofi  of  any 
human  mediator.^ 

In  the  mouths  of  professed  Protestants,  who  hold 
the  sacerdotal  theory  of  the  ministry  in  its  mildest 
form,  it   means   "  ministerial   intervention  that   sins 


*  See  Bib.  Repertory,  vol.  xvii.,  52. 
34* 


402  TJie  CJiHstian  Ministry 

may  be  forgiven."*  This,  it  is  alleged,  is  "the  es- 
sence of  priesthood" ;  and  this  is  declared  to  be  in- 
dispensable under  the  present  economy.  If  it  were 
simply  designed  to  teach,  by  this  language,  that  in 
the  ordinary  administration  of  His  government  over 
the  Church,  God  is  pleased  to  employ  the  agency  of 
the  ministry  in  bringing  men  into  a  state  of  salva- 
tion, there  would  be  no  room  for  controversy.  But 
this  is  not  the  idea.  It  is  intended  that  the  Christian 
ministry  occupy  a  position  analogous  to  that  of  the 
Aaronic  priests:  that,  like  the  latter,  God  has  consti- 
tuted them  a  sacred  caste  to  stand  between  Himself 
and  our  race;  that  He  has  made  it  obligatory  upon 
all  men  to  approach  Him  through  tJievi ;  that  He  will 
accept  the  worship  of  a  sinner  only  as  ///rj/ present  it; 
and  that  however  humble,  penitent,  and  devout  may 
be  his  spirit,  he  has  no  more  ground  to  expect  for- 
giveness and  renewal,  so  long  as  he  refuses  to  avail 
himself  of  their  mediation,  than  a  Jew  would  have 
had  to  expect  his  sin-offering  to  be  accepted,  who, 
instead  of  bringing  his  victim  to  the  priest,  sacrificed 
it  with  his  own  hand  upon  his  own  altar.  This  is 
the  doctrine.  And  if  it  be  not  clearly  "  another  gos- 
pel," it  will  at  least  be  difficult  to  show  how  the 
fundamental  truths  of  the  Gospel  can  coalesce  with  it. 


*  See  Bishop  Whiuingham's  "Two  Discourses  on  the  Priesthood 
in  the  Church." 


Not  a  Priesthood.  403 

That  man  is  unworthy  in  himself  to  come  before 
God,  is  a  truth  which  all  religions  recognize.  He 
must  approach  Him  through  a  Mediator.  Christian- 
ity meets  this  necessity  of  his  lapsed  condition  by 
providing  a  Mediator, — one  whose  mysterious  con- 
stitution and  wonderful  experience  invest  him  with 
all  the  qualifications  requisite  for  this  exalted  office. 
But  the  scheme  we  are  examining  superinduces  upon 
this  principle  another  which  is  unknown  to  the  Gos- 
pel, and,  if  carried  out,  subversive  of  it.  It  claims 
that  we  can  approach  the  Mediator  Himself  only 
through  anotJier  mediator ;  that  this  second  mediator 
is  as  essential  to  present  our  worship  to  the  first,  as 
the  first  is  to  present  it  to  the  Father ;  and  that  as 
the  Father  will  accept  those  only  who  come  to  Him 
in  the  name  of  Christ,  so  Christ  will  receive  only 
those  who  come  to  Him  through  the  intervention  of 
a  human  priest.  The  bare  statement  of  this  flagrant 
heresy  must  revolt  any  intelligent  auditory  not  al- 
ready steeped  in  Romish  errors.  One  is  at  a  loss 
how  to  stigmatize  it, — whether  as  more  derogatory 
to  the  Saviour  or  more  discouraging  and  tyrannical 
towards  man.  To  exhibit  in  detail  its  contrariety  to 
the  whole  scope  and  tenor  of  the  New  Testament 
would  call  for  a  recital  of  a  large  part  of  the  volume. 
When  we  examine  the  four  Evangelists,  we  con- 
stantly find  the  Saviour  inviting  sinners  to  come  di- 
rectly to  Him.     When  we  turn  to  the  book  of  Acts 


404  The  Christia7i  Ministry 

and  the  Epistles,  we  hear  the  apostles,  with  one 
voice,  addressing  people  of  all  tongues  and  nations, 
repeating  the  same  lesson :  "  Believe  on  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved."  Never  do 
they  say,  "  Come  to  us  and  we  will  obtain  forgive- 
ness for  you."  If  the  apostle  had  said  (observes 
Augustine),  "  These  things  have  I  written  unto  you, 
that  you  should  not  sin;  but  if  any  man  sin,  you  have 
me  for  a  mediator,  and  I,  by  my  prayer,  obtain  par- 
don for  your  sins,  as,  in  a  certain  place,  Parmenian 
placed  the  bishop  to  be  a  mediator  between  the 
people  and  God,  what  good  and  faithful  Christian 
could  abide  him?  Who  would  behold  him  as  an 
apostle  of  Christ,  and  not  as  an  anti-Christ  ?" 

Intercessory  prayer  is  undoubtedly  one  of  the 
duties  of  the  ministry.  But  it  is  no  less  a  duty 
common  to  all  Christians.  The  command  is,  "  Pray 
one  for  another."  And  while  the  apostles  are 
earnest  in  praying  for  their  converts,  they  are  im- 
portunate in  desiring  their  converts  to  pray  for  them. 
It  were  as  reasonable,  therefore,  to  argue  that  the 
people  must  interpose  to  give  effect  to  the  prayers 
of  the  ministry,  as  to  pretend  that  the  ministry 
are  the  only  authorized  medium  through  which  the 
people  can  approach  God. 

This  so-called  priesthood  must  come  to  God 
through  the  advocacy  of  Jesus  Christ;  their  own 
application   is   to  the    Mediator.     Why  should   not 


Not  a  Pnesthood.  405 

the  laity  do  the  same?  Why  may  they  not  as  well 
make  their  suit  directly  to  Christ  as  to  a  human 
priest?  Is  the  latter  more  benevolent,  more  pitiful, 
more  willing  to  hear  them,  better  able  to  help  them? 
The  bare  suggestion  were  impious.  It  is  the  glory 
of  the  Christian  dispensation  that  it  brings  God  near 
to  us.  The  veil  of  the  temple  has  been  rent  and  the 
holy  of  holies  laid  open.  In  place  of  that  awful 
shrine,  to  which  the  high-priest  alone  was  admitted, 
and  even  he  only  once  a  year,  and  with  rites  adapted 
to  strike  terror  through  all  hearts,  the  infinite  One 
has  stooped  to  our  weakness  and  manifested  Him- 
self in  the  flesh.  Assuming  our  nature  into  an  in- 
dissoluble union  with  His  own,  He  dwelt  among  us, 
shared  in  our  toils,  fought  with  our  temptations, 
drank  of  the  cup  of  our  sorrows,  associated  with  the 
humblest  of  the  race,  bore  with  their  infirmities, 
healed  their  diseases,  wept  with  them  in  their  afflic- 
tions, and  allowed  no  measure  of  degradation  or 
depravity  to  exclude  them  from  His  sympathy. 
During  the  whole  of  His  public  ministry,  "  He  went 
about  doing  good."  The  common  people,  long 
accustomed  to  the  contempt  of  the  Scribes  and 
Pharisees,  and  to  the  tyranny  of  their  Romish  task- 
masters, "  wondered  at  the  gracious  words  which 
proceeded  out  of  His  mouth."  They  were  not  used 
to  kindness.  Still  less  were  they  used  to  a  Teacher 
who  could  not  only  abate  or  remove  their  bodily 


4o6  The  Christian  Ministry 

sufferings,  but  go  down  into  the  lowest  depths  of 
their  experience  and  supply  the  restless  cravings  of 
their  moral  and  sentient  nature  for  some  satisfying 
good.  They  gathered  around  Him,  therefore,  wher- 
ever He  went.  They  followed  Him  to  the  moun- 
tain and  the  desert.  They  even  intruded  upon  His 
hours  of  sacred  retirement  and  needful  repose.  And 
He  bore  with  it  all.  He  requited  their  importunity 
with  miracles  of  mercy,  and  ceased  not  to  counsel 
and  comfort  them,  until  He  sealed  His  love  for  them 
with  His  death. 

This  is  the  Saviour  who,  as  we  are  now  told,  can 
be  approached  only  through  an  earthly  priesthood ! 
Men  who  claim  to  be  "  successors  of  the  apostles" 
in  office  and  prerogative,  arrogate  a  power  which  the 
apostles  themselves  would  not  have  dared  to  assume. 
Think  of  the  twelve  interposing  themselves  between 
their  Master  and  one  of  these  groups  of  anxious  and 
suffering  Israelites,  and  saying  to  them,  "  What  will 
you  ?  If  you  have  any  request  to  prefer  to  Him,  it 
must  be  done  through  us.  Be  it  healing,  pardon, 
instruction,  whatever  you  desire,  we  must  present 
the  application,  or  He  will  not  heed  it."  Were  a 
passage  like  this  found  in  any  portion  of  the  New 
Testament,  the  very  instinct  of  every  reader  of  the 
sacred  volume  would  pronounce  it  a  vulgar  and  pro- 
fane interpolation.  There  was  a  single  occasion  on 
which  some  of  the  apostles  did  undertake,  not  to  do 


Not  a  Priesthood.  407 

a  thing  so  audacious  as  this,  but  to  prevent  a  com- 
pany of  parents  from  bringing  their  children  to 
Christ ;  and  the  manner  in  which  He  resented  and 
reproved  their  officiousness,  suppHes  one  of  the  earH- 
est  and  sweetest  lessons  we  learn  about  the  Saviour: 
^'  Suffer  \hQ  little  children  to  come  unto  me,  and  for- 
bid them  not,  for  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven." 
Can  He  feel  it  as  a  less  indignity  to  Himself,  that  the 
men  He  has  appointed  to  feed  and  govern  His  flock 
should  thrust  themselves  in  between  Him  and  their 
fellow-sinners,  and  say  to  them,  "  You  cannot  come 
to  Christ,  nor  will  He  forgive  and  accept  you,  unless 
%ve  present  your  repentance  and  your  prayers,  and 
intercede  for  you"  ? 

Let  no  one  say  that  this  is  to  disparage  the  func- 
tions of  the  ministry  and  the  ordinances  of  the 
Church.  Those  ordinances  are  means  of  grace,  and 
it  is  through  the  labors  of  the  ministry  that  men  are 
usually  led  to  Christ.  But  what  we  protest  against 
is  the  Levitical  notion  that  the  ministers  of  the  Gos- 
pel are  official  mediators  between  God  and  man, 
through  whom  alone  there  can  be  any  access  to  the 
Deity.  We  brand  this  dogma  as  contravening  the 
express  teachings  of  the  New  Testament,  which  in- 
vites and  requires  men  to  look  directly  to  Christ  for 
the  pardon  of  sin  and  all  other  blessings. 

The  validity  of  this  argument  will  further  appear 
when  it  is  considered  that  the  sacerdotal  theory  of 


4o8  The  Christian  Ministry 


the  Christian  ministry  is  subversive  of  all  true  views 
of  the  uature  and  design  of  the  Church. 

It  has  been  repeatedly  intimated  that  the  doctrine 
of  an  official  human  priesthood  in  the  Church,  is  in- 
terlaced with  a  corresponding  hypothesis  as  to  the 
nature  and  functions  of  the  Church  itself.  The 
Church,  according  to  this  system,  is  a  Hierarchy. 
It  consists  of  a  single  society  (now  unhappily  in  a 
somewhat  divided  state),  placed  under  the  govern- 
ment of  Diocesan  Bishops,  who  derive  their  author- 
ity from  Christ  through  an  unbroken  prelatical  suc- 
cession. These  bishops,  indeed,  with  the  inferior 
clergy,  properly  constitute  the  Church,  the  people 
being  a  mere  appendage  to  the  ministry.  For  the 
doctrine  that  the  clergy  are  a  priesthood,  carries  with 
it  the  prerogative  of  exclusive  mediation.  But  to 
assume  to  be  the  only  mediators  between  God  and 
the  Church,  would  have  been  too  glaring  a  usurpa- 
tion of  Christ's  office  to  be  ventured  upon  in  the 
early  stage  of  this  heresy.  The  CJiurcJi,  however, 
might  mediate  between  God  and  the  people,  and  so 
the  clergy  gradually  transformed  their  "  order"  into 
'*  the  Church."  To  this  Church  are  confided  the 
gifts  of  salvation.  It  stands  in  the  place  and  is 
clothed  with  the  authority  of  Christ,  as  His  Vicar. 
It  is  the  storehouse  of  grace,  and  this  grace  it  com- 
municates through  the  sacraments,  which  must  be 
duly  administered  by  sacerdotal  hands.     In  baptism 


Not  a  Priesthood.  409 

sinners  are  regenerated,  and  by  the  Eucharist,  in 
which  the  faithful  partake  of  the  real  body  and 
blood  of  Christ,  they  have  their  forgiveness  sealed 
to  them.  Non-prelatical  societies  form  no  part  of 
the  Church,  but  are  schismatical  organizations;  and 
no  one  who  declines  the  jurisdiction  of  the  hierarchy, 
can  have  any  scriptural  evidence  that  he  is  in  the 
way  of  salvation. 

The  priesthood  being  the  stewards  of  the  grace 
deposited  in  this  "  storehouse,"  they  dispense  it  ex- 
clusively through  the  sacraments.  "  We  have  almost 
embraced  the  doctrine,"  says  a  writer  of  this  school, 
"  that  God  conveys  grace  only  through  the  instru- 
mentality of  the  mental  energies,  i.e.,  through  faith, 
prayer,  active  spiritual  contemplations,  or  ivJiat  is 
called  'communion  with  God,'  in  contradiction  to 
the  primitive  view,  according  to  which  the  Church 
and  her  sacraments  are  the  ordained  and  direct 
means  of  conveying  to  the  soul  what  is  in  itself 
supernatural  and  unseen."*  "  These  powers  of 
the  Church,"  another  eminent  apologist  of  the  sys- 
tem has  observed,  "  are  very  great, — they  are  even 
awful ;  if  not  conferred  by  God,  they  are  blasphe- 
mously assumed  by  man.  The  power  of  communi- 
cating to  man  the  divine  nature  itself,  of  bringing 
down  the  Deity  from  heaven,  of  infusing  the  Spirit 

*  Oxford  Tracts,  vol.  ii.,  Preface. 
35 


4 TO  The  Christian  Miiiistry 

into  the  souls  of  miserable  mortals, — this,  which  is 
nothing  more  than  the  every-day  promise  of  the 
Church  every  time  that  the  priest  stands  at  the  font 
or  ministers  at  the  altar,  is  so  awful  and  so  tremen- 
dous, that  we  scarcely  dare  to  read  it,  except  in 
familiar  words  which  scarcely  touch  the  ear,"* 

"  Awful  and  tremendous"  these  powers  are ;  and 
we  agree  with  the  writer,  that  "  if  not  conferred  by 
God,  they  are  blasphemously  assumed  by  man." 
That  the  scheme  is  one  which  first  converts  the 
Church  into  a  lordly  and  oppressive  hierarchy,  and 
then  puts  it  in  Christ's  place,  must  be  too  apparent 
to  require  argument.  "  It  is  to  confound  the  means 
of  grace  with  the  Author  of  grace ;  to  worship  the 
thing  made  and  dishonor  the  Maker.  It  is  to  array 
against  Christ  the  instrumentality  which  He  has 
established  against  Satan."t  And  all  this  is  the 
legitimate  result  of  the  dogma  that  the  Christian 
ministry  is  a  priesthood. 

For  if  the  ministry  be  a  priesthood,  having  special 
access  to  God,  the  accredited  intercessors  of  the 
laity,  and  the  sole  dispensers  of  salvation,  the  tree 
has  but  yielded  its  proper  fruit.  It  was  the  gradual 
assumption  of  these  prerogatives  which  issued  in  the 
establishment  of  that  great  anti-Christian  corpora- 

*  Professor  Sewell. 

f  The  Bishop  of  Chester,  now  Archbishop  of  Canterbury. 


Not  a  Priesthood.  41 1 

tion,  whose  usurpations  and  crimes  make  up  so  large 
a  portion  of  the  history  of  the  civiHzed  world  for  the 
last  twelve  centuries.  The  same  spirit  in  England 
forged  the  chains  of  the  Puritans,  and  in  Scotland 
shed  the  blood  of  the  Covenanters  like  water.  In 
this  country  it  has  displayed  itself  in  the  glorification 
of  the  "  Church"  at  the  expense  of  her  Divine  Head, 
in  a  growing  sycophancy  on  the  part  of  many  of  the 
subordinate  clergy  towards  their  Bishops,  and  in  re- 
fusing to  recognize  as  veritable  members  of  Christ's 
mystical  body,  Churches  imbued  with  Christ's  Spirit, 
and  laden  with  those  fruits  of  holiness  which  are  the 
only  incontestable  marks  of  His  presence.  These 
are  the  natural,  not  to  say  the  unavoidable,  fruits  of 
a  system  which  teaches  that  the  few  hundred  prelat- 
ically  ordained  ministers  in  the  United  States,  are 
the  only  channel  through  which  the  twenty-five  mil- 
lions of  people  who  make  up  this  nation,  can  have 
any  "  covenanted"  access  to  God.  Just  in  propor- 
tion as  these  extravagant  pretensions  come  to  be 
acquiesced  in,  will  the  experience  of  past  ages  be 
repeated;  and  petty  Hildebrands  and  Lauds  will  ap- 
pear, not,  happily,  in  this  country,  to  dethrone  rulers 
and  pillory  heretics,  but  to  hurl  opprobrious  epithets 
at  Churches  which  give  palpable  demonstration  that 
the  Spirit  of  God  dwells  in  them. 

I  repeat  it:  ambition  and  imperiousness   on  the 
part  of  the  clergy,  the  multiplication  of  rites  and  cere- 


4  T  2  The  Christian  Ministry 


monies,  the  substitution  of  a  sacramental  for  a  spirit- 
ual religion,  and  the  progressive  deterioration  of  the 
Church  in  all  its  attributes,  are  but  the  logical  devel- 
opment of  that  noxious  germ,  that  the  ministry  is  a 
sacerdotal  order:  and  they  may  suffice  as  so  many 
illustrations  of  the  sentiment,  that  this  theory  is  sub- 
versive of  all  true  views  of  the  nature  and  design  of 
the  Church.  "  The  whole  system"  (I  quote  the  lan- 
guage of  the  able  and  eloquent  Bishop  of  the  Diocese 
of  Ohio)  "  is  one  of  Church  instead  of  Christ,  priest 
instead  of  Gospel,  concealment  of  truth  instead  of 
manifestation  of  truth,  ignorant  superstition  instead 
of  enlightened  faith,  bondage  where  we  are  prom- 
ised liberty, — all  tending  directly  to  load  us  with 
whatever  is  odious  in  the  worst  meaning  of  priest- 
craft, in  place  of  the  free,  affectionate,  enlarging, 
elevating,  and  cheerful  liberty  of  a  child  of  God."* 

It  follows  from  all  that  has  been  said,  and  is 
urged  as  another  prime  objection  to  this  sacerdotal 
theory,  that  it  is  fraught  ivith  ruin  to  the  souls  of  men. 

The  allegation  that  the  tendency  of  this  system  is 
to  make  men  depend  upon  the  priest  for  salvation, 
will  be  met  with  a  volley  of  caveats  and  disclaimers, 
"  Nothing  of  this  sort,"  we  shall  be  told,  "  is  incul- 
cated or  encouraged :  all  are  admonished  that  the 
offices   of  the  clergy  cannot  avail  to  their  benefit 


*  Bishop  Mcllvaine's  "Charge,"  1843. 


Not  a  Priesthood.  413 

without  their  own  faith  and  repentance."  This  may- 
be said  with  perfect  sincerity.  But  it  is  the  actual 
tendency  of  the  system  with  which  we  are  now  deal- 
ing :  and  in  this  view  it  presents,  as  we  contend,  this 
pregnant  issue,  to  wit,  the  religion  of  the  priest  or 
the  religion  of  the  sinner. 

It  has  been  justly  observed  that  "  mankind  have 
an  innate  propensity,  as  to  other  errors,  so  to  that  of 
endeavoring  to  serve  God  by  proxy;  to  commit  to 
some  distinct  order  of  men  the  care  of  their  religious 
concerns,  in  the  same  manner  as  they  confide  the 
care  of  their  bodily  health  to  the  physician,  and  of 
their  legal  transactions  to  the  lawyer;  deeming  it 
sufficient  to  follow  implicitly  their  directions  without 
attempting  themselves  to  become  acquainted  with 
the  mysteries  of  medicine  or  of  law.  Even  thus  are 
they  willing  and  desirous  that  others  should  study 
and  should  understand  the  mysterious  doctrines  of 
religion  in  their  stead  ;  should  practise  in  their 
stead  some  more  exalted  kind  of  piety  and  virtue ; 
and  should  offer  prayers  and  sacrifices  on  their  be- 
half, both  in  their  lifetime  and  after  their  death.  ,  .  . 
Hence  the  gradual  transformation  of  the  Christian 
minister,  the  presbyter,  into  the  sacrificing  priest, 
the  'upsLx;  (in  Latin,  '  sacerdos,'  as  the  Romans  call 
theirs),  of  the  Jewish  and  Pagan  religions."* 

*  Archbishop  Whately,  "  Errors  of  Romanism." 
35* 


414  TJie  Christian  Ministry 

Human  nature  is  the  same  in  all  countries  and 
communions.  Everywhere  it  is  more  or  less  infected 
with  this  craving  after  a  vicarious  religion  :  and  the 
sacerdotal  theory,  however  it  may  be  mollified  and 
disguised,  meets  its  requisitions.  For  even  in  the 
mitigated  form  in  which  it  is  now  propounded  to  the 
Protestant  world,  this  scheme  converts  Christianity, 
as  we  have  shown,  into  a  sacramental  system.  In 
the  New  Testament,  the  word  of  God  is  made  the 
chief  instrument  in  the  conversion  and  sanctification 
of  men.  The  great  function  assigned  to  the  apos- 
tles, and  to  the  ministers  appointed  to  succeed  them, 
was  **  not  to  baptize,  but  to  preach  the  Gospel."  And 
divine  trutli  is  uniformly  recognized  as  the  principal 
means  through  which  the  Almighty  Spirit  recovers 
men  from  their  apostasy  and  prepares  them  for 
heaven. 

The  scheme  we  are  examining  reverses  this  order, 
and  substitutes  the  sacraments  for  the  word.  The 
preaching  of  the  Gospel  is  systematically  disparaged. 
The  pulpit  is  thrust  into  a  corner  to  give  place  to  the 
communion-table,  now  transformed  into  an  **  altar." 
The  gifts  of  grace  are  deposited  in  baptism  and  the 
Lord's  Supper ;  and  it  is  only  by  receiving  these 
ordinances  at  the  hands  of  the  duly  authorized /wj-/- 
hood  that  sinners  can  be  regenerated  and  made  par- 
takers of  a  true  faith.  What  sound  the  pulpit  utters, 
or  whether  any  sound  at  all,  is  of  little  moment ;  the 


Not  a  Priesthood.  .  415 

whole  interest  of  "  priest"  and  people  being  concen- 
trated where,  if  the  theory  be  well  founded,  it  cer- 
tainly should  be,  upon  the  font  and  the  "  altar." 

Let  the  clergy  refine  upon  the  terms  they  apply  to 
these  ordinances  as  they  choose  :  the  actual  impres- 
sion made  upon  the  popular  mind  will  be,  that  the 
sacraments  are  invested  with  a  sort  of  intrinsic  effi- 
cacy which  insures  the  renewal  and  justification  of 
those  who  partake  of  them. 

When  Charles  II.  was  dying,  his  brother  James 
surreptitiously  brought  into  the  room  Father  Hud- 
dleston,  a  Benedictine  monk.  "  Sire,"  said  he  to  the 
king,  "  this  good  man  once  saved  your  life  [at  the 
battle  of  Worcester] ;  he  now  comes  to  save  your 
soul''  Charles  faintly  answered,  "  He  is  welcome." 
Huddleston  went  through  his  part  better  than  had 
been  expected.  He  knelt  by  the  bed,  listened  to  the 
confession,  pronounced  the  absolution,  and  adminis- 
tered extreme  unction.  He  asked  if  the  king  wished 
to  receive  the  Lord's  Supper.  "  Surely,"  said  Charles, 
"  if  I  am  not  unworthy."  The  host  was  brought  in. 
Charles  feebly  strove  to  rise  and  kneel  before  it. 
The  priest  bade  him  lie  still,  and  assured  him  that 
God  would  accept  the  humiliation  of  the  body.  The 
king  found  so  much  difficulty  in  swallowing  the 
bread  that  it  was  necessary  to  open  the  door  and  to 
procure  a  glass  of  water.  This  rite  ended,  the  monk 
held  up  a  crucifix  before  the  penitent,  charged  him 


41 6  The  Christian  Ministry 

to  fix  his  last  thoughts  on  the  sufferings  of  the 
Redeemer,  and  withdrew.* 

This  scene  might  well  supply  the  theme  for  an 
extended  discourse.  But  the  one  aspect  of  it  with 
which  we  are  now  concerned  is,  that  the  monk  was 
brought  to  the  expiring  voluptuary  to  "  save  his 
soul,"  and  that  he  as  readily  gave  himself  up  into  his 
hands  to  be  saved  by  him.  Charles  went  through 
the  form  of  a  confession ;  but  beyond  this  he  had 
nothing  to  do.  The  whole  work  of  his  salvation 
was  effected,  if  effected  at  all,  by  the  priest.  And 
thus  one  of  the  most  shameless  sensualists  who  ever 
sat  on  the  British  throne,  surrounded  at  the  very 
moment  by  his  whole  harem  of  concubines,  was 
dismissed  into  the  world  of  spirits,  with  the  feeling 
that  the  manipulations  and  benisons  of  a  friar  had 
cleansed  his  leprous  soul  and  made  him  meet  to 
appear  before  a  holy  God ! 

If  this  be  an  extreme  case,  it  is  only  because  the 
rank  and  the  vices  of  Charles  make  it  so.  Wherever 
a  sacerdotal  system  is  established,  the  sentiment  will 
prevail  that  the  priest  can  "  save  the  soul."  There 
will  be  a  disposition  to  look  to  the  priest  instead  of 
looking  to  Christ ;  a  superstitious  reliance  upon  the 
sacraments  ;  a  feeling  that  to  receive  baptism  and 
the  Eucharist  from  the  hands  of  an  ecclesiastic  in  the 

*  See  Macaulay,  and  the  "  Pictorial  History  of  England." 


Not  a  Priesthood.  417 

line  of  the  "  succession,"  is  soincJiow  to  secure  the 
remission  of  sin  and  the  favor  of  heaven.  Undoubt- 
edly these  ordinances  are  of  very  great  value.  They 
are  channels  through  which  God  is  accustomed  to 
communicate  grace  to  the  hearts  of  His  people.  And 
every  believer  knows  what  comfort  and  strength  may 
be  derived  from  a  penitent  and  devout  attendance 
upon  them.  But  the  sacerdotal  system,  practically 
and  as  regards  the  masses  of  the  people,  puts  the 
priest  and  the  sacraments  in  the  place  of  the  true 
Mediator.  Multitudes  come  to  them,  it  is  to  be 
feared,  like  the  royal  libertine  just  mentioned,  with  a 
blind  faith,  expecting  to  be  saved,  as  the  Hindoos 
and  all  Pagans  do,  through  the  opus  operatum  of  rites 
which  the  priest  celebrates  for  them  ;  and  utterly 
uninstructed  in  the  real  grouixls  of  a  sinner's  justifi- 
cation before  God.  We  do  not  hesitate,  therefore,  to 
urge  it  as  a  capital  objection  to  the  system,  that  it  is 
adapted  to  mislead  men  in  the  matter  of  their  salva- 
tion, and  destroy  them  eternally. 

Such  are  some  of  the  grounds  on  which  we  dis- 
card the  heresy  of  an  official  human  priesthood  in  the 
Christian  Church.  This  ^o^vaz.  is  at  variance  zvitlitlie 
whole  stnictiire  of  the  Nciv  Testament,  and  is  especially 
disproved  by  the  absence  of  all  sacerdotal  terms  and 
titles,  as  applied  to  the  ministers  of  the  Gospel. 

It  is  in  a  high  degree  derogatory  to  the  one  perfect 
and  unchangeable  Priesthood  of  the  Lord  jfesus  Christ, 


41 8  The  Christian  Mmis try 

It  contravenes  the  emphatic  teaching  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, that  every  sinner  is  antliorized  to  come  directly 
to  Christ  for  pardon,  without  tJie  intervetition  of  any 
earthly  mediator. 

It  is  subversive  of  all  true  vieivs  of  the  nature  and 
design  of  the  Church. 

And  it  is  fraught  ivitJi  r-uin  to  the  souls  of  men. 

In  denying  that  the  Christian  ministry  is  a  priest- 
hood, we  surrender  nothing  of  the  honor  which 
properly  belongs  to  it,  and  make  no  compromise  of 
its  chartered  rights  and  privileges.  We  do  not  for 
one  moment  give  place  to  those  persons  who,  going 
off  to  the  opposite  extreme,  maintain  that  Christ  has 
instituted  no  permanent  ministry  in  the  Church,  and 
made  no  provision  for  the  orderly  induction  of  men 
into  this  office.  For,  not  to  advert  to  other  elements 
of  proof,  we  cannot  understand  how  an  apostle  should 
have  written  three  epistles  for  the  express  purpose  of 
defining  the  office  and  functions  of  a  "  Bishop,"  if 
no  such  office  was  created. 

What  the  office  is,  is  a  question  on  which  the  Chris- 
tian world  has  been  divided,  from  a  period  a  little  sub- 
sequent to  the  apostolic  age  until  now.  As  already 
stated,  the  theories  respecting  the  form  or  constitution 
of  the  ministry  are  as  conflicting  as  those  which  per- 
tain to  its  nature.  There  is,  however,  at  the  present 
time,  a  very  general  and  very  significant  concurrence 
of  sentiment  in  the  different  branches  of  the  Church, 


Not  a  Priesthood.  419 

as  to  the  import  of  the  New  Testament  utterances,  in  all 
that  it  says  on  the  subject  of  "  Bishops."  Even  those 
who  contend  for  a  prelatical  order  in  the  Church 
concede  that  their  bishops  are  not  the  bishops  men- 
tioned in  the  inspired  writings.  "  The  name  bishop," 
says  the  late  Bishop  of  the  Diocese  of  Pennsylvania, 
in  his  tract  on  this  subject,  "  which  now  designates 
the  highest  grade  of  the  ministry,  is  not  appropriated 
to  that  office  in  Scripture.  That  name  is  there  given 
to  the  middle  order,  or  presbyters :  and  all  that  we 
read  in  the  New  Testament  concerning  bishops  (in- 
cluding, of  course,  the  words  '  overseers'  and  '  over- 
sight,' which  have  the  same  derivation)  is  to  be  re- 
garded as  pertaining  to  that  middle  grade."  The 
great  mass  of  the  Reformed  churches — including,  too, 
the  best  of  the  English  Reformers — not  only  adopted 
this  view  as  to  the  rank  of  the  scriptural  "  bishop," 
but  contended  that  this  order,  styled  indifferently  by 
the  sacred  penmen  "  bishops"  and  "  presbyters,"  was 
the  highest,  and  indeed  the  only,  grade  of  ministers 
instituted  by  Christ  as  a  permanent  order  in  the 
Church.  The  leading  arguments  in  support  of  this 
view  must  be  familiar  to  every  intelligent  Presbyterian, 
and  the  time  forbids  me  to  go  into  the  discussion  of 
the  topic  here.  Let  it  suffice  to  know,  that  when  the 
apostle  says,  "  If  a  man  desire  the  office  of  a  bishop, 
he  desireth  a  good  work,"  he  refers  to  that  office 
which  we  all  recognize  as  the  chief  office  in  the 


420  The  Christian  Mitiistry 

Church, — to  the  bishop  of  a  single  congregation,  not 
to  a  diocesan  bishop. 

Why  the  office  he  mentions  is  a  "  good  work" 
might  be  shown  by  numerous  cogent  arguments. 
Most  of  these,  however,  must  be  omitted  ;  and  all 
should  be,  were  it  not  that  some  may  suppose  that 
the  tendency  of  this  discourse,  so  far,  has  been  to 
depreciate  the  sacred  office,  and  divest  it  of  powers 
which  really  belong  to  it.  But  there  is  no  occasion 
for  any  sensitiveness  on  this  point.  Nothing  can 
damage  the  ministry  so  much  as  the  usurpation  of 
prerogatives  and  functions  to  which  it  has  no  valid 
claim.  It  is  the  lordly  pretensions  of  an  ambitious 
"priesthood"  which  brings  the  ministry  into  disrepute, 
and  fills  churches  with  formalists  and  hypocrites. 
By  far  other  means  than  these  must  the  ministry 
conciliate  the  respect  and  confidence  of  the  world. 
Viewed  in  its  scriptural  nature,  and  as  fulfilling  its 
prescribed  mission,  "  the  office  of  a  bishop"  is  one  of 
pre-eminent  honor, — in  the  highest  and  best  sense  of 
the  terms,  "  a  good  work." 

In  the  redemption  of  the  world  by  Jesus  Christ,  we 
are  presented  with  the  brightest  display  of  the  Divine 
perfections  which  has  been  made  to  the  intelligent 
universe.  The  Church,  which  is  the  fruit  of  the 
Redeemer's  sufferings,  has  been,  from  the  period  of 
Adam's  apostasy,  the  great  object  of  regard  to  the 
angelic  hosts,  and  to  Jehovah  Himself.     Not  only  is 


Not  a  Priesthood.  42 1 

there  no  earthly  institution  which  rivals  it  in  this 
view,  but  all  human  affairs,  from  the  rise  and  over- 
throw of  dynasties  to  the  familiar  incidents  in  every 
household  history,  are  to  be  made  tributary  to  its 
welfare,  and  subservient  to  its  ultimate  triumph.  God 
has  linked  His  own  glory  with  its  destiny,  and  or- 
dained it  as  the  means  by  which  His  manifold  wisdom 
shall  be  made  known  to  principalities  and  powers  in 
heavenly  places.  To  the  ministry  of  reconcilia- 
tion He  has  committed  the  chief  earthly  agency  in 
working  out  for  the  Church  this  sublime  mission. 
They  are  its  principal  officers,  to  whom  He  has 
delegated,  in  common  with  the  Christian  people,  the 
actual  oversight  and  government  of  its  affairs.  And 
to  them  is  confided  that  ministration  of  His  word  and 
ordinances  by  which  He  has  chosen  mainly  to  enlarge 
and  perpetuate  it.  Without  granting  them  any  pecu- 
liar and  exclusive  access  to  His  throne;  without 
constituting  them  mediators  between  Himself  and 
their  fellow-men ;  without  investing  them  with  the 
least  efficiency  in  themselves,  or  tying  the  gifts  of  His 
grace  indissolubly  to  their  functions  ;  without  giving 
them  power  so  much  as  to  "  make  one  hair  white  or 
black,"  much  less  to  effect  a  sacerdotal  expiation  or 
absolution  in  behalf  of  a  single  sinner.  He  has  never- 
theless placed  them  in  His  Church  as  under-shep- 
herds,  and  honored  them  as  His  prime  instruments  in 
conveying  pardon  and  deliverance  to  a  ruined  race. 

36 


42  2  The  Christian  Ministry 

They  are  His  pastors  to  "seek  that  which  is  lost, 
to  strengthen  the  diseased,  to  heal  the  sick,  to  bring 
back  again  that  which  was  driven  away."  They  are 
His  stewards,  "faithful  and  wise,"  to  dispense  the 
inexhaustible  provisions  of  His  house  to  His  ran- 
somed family.  They  are  His  ivatclivien,  to  warn  the 
slumbering  city  of  impending  danger;  His  laborers^ 
to  tend  the  harvest  and  gather  it  into  His  garners; 
His  ambassadors,  to  negotiate  a  peace  with  a  re- 
volted race;  His  master-builders,  to  carry  forward, 
with  living  stones,  the  temple  of  the  Lord,  until  at 
length  the  top-stone  shall  be  laid  with  shoutings  of 
"  Grace,  Grace,  unto  it."  Is  there  any  other  office 
clothed  with  functions  at  once  so  beneficent  and  so 
exalted  as  these?  which  bring  worms  of  the  dust 
into  a  more  sacred  and  intimate  relation  to  the 
Deity?  or  which  is  more  legibly  inscribed  with  that 
most  honorable  and  sublime  of  all  legends,  "  Glory 
TO  God   in  the  highest;   on  earth,  peace,  good 

WILL   TOWARDS    MEN"  ? 

For,  consider,  on  the  latter  of  these  topics,  whether 
there  is  any  office  more  vitally  connected  with  the 
well-being  of  our  race  than  that  of  a  "bishop"  or 
pastor.  His  vocation  is  to  do  good.  Doing  good  is 
not  with  him  (I  mean  according  to  the  spirit  of  his 
commission)  an  incidental  and  contingent  thing;  it 
is  his  business, — his  "' zvork" — the  very  end  for 
which  he  is  made  a  "  bishop."      He  is  called  to  the 


Not  a  Priesthood.  423 

God-like  service  of  scattering  blessings  all  around 
his  pathway  through  life, — not  blessings  of  his  own, 
but  handfuls  of  priceless  gifts  which  it  would  degrade 
to  compare  them  with  rubies  and  diamonds ;  and 
these  he  throws  broad-cast,  "  without  money  and 
without  price,"  among  the  thoughtless,  the  aban- 
doned, and  the  lost.  The  ministry  of  such  a  man  in 
a  community  is  like  a  fountain  in  a  desert, — like  the 
sun  in  the  heavens.  Heathful  influences  radiate 
from  it  in  every  direction.  Whatever  is  evil  it  helps 
to  eradicate  or  restrain ;  whatever  is  good  it  fosters 
and  augments.  It  not  only  assists  the  wandering  in 
finding  the  way  to  heaven,  but  it  tells  with  a  benign 
though  silent  power  upon  every  social  and  secular 
interest.  Its  influence  distils  like  the  dew.  Too 
subtle  to  be  traced  by  any  eye  but  that  of  Omni- 
science, it  permeates  the  tangled  thicket  of  human 
sympathies,  passions,  cares,  and  contests,  and,  with 
a  wondrous  vitality,  nurtures  all  pure  emotions, 
quickens  the  germs  of  virtuous  feeling,  and  imper- 
ceptibly spreads  over  the  crude  and  repulsive  mass, 
a  garniture  of  celestial  flowers  beautiful  enough  for 
angels  to  stop  and  look  upon,  and  redolent  of  heaven. 
This  is  not  fiction,  but  sober  reality.  For  wherever 
there  is  a  faithful  ministry  these  salutary  changes  are 
going  forward.  And  the  annals  of  the  last  eighteen 
hundred  years  may  be  confidently  appealed  to  in 
proof  of  the  position,  that  such  a  ministry  is  not 


424  The  Chilis tian  Ministry 

merely  the  potent  auxiliary,  but  the  harbinger  and 
instrument  of  all  true  social  progress;  and  that  just 
m  proportion  as  a  people  enjoy  and  appreciate  its 
labors,  do  they  advance  in  the  arts  and  appliances 
of  a  refined  civilization.  Nor  this  alone.  Its  chief 
benefits  are  not  those  which  meet  the  eye,  as  we 
contrast  the  school-houses  and  churches,  the  ships 
and  factories,  the  grain-clad  fields  and  smilinjj  ham- 
lets,  the  happy  homes  and  peaceful  populations,  of  a 
free,  Protestant  land,  with  the  ignorance,  brutality, 
and  wretchedness  which  overspread  a  pagan  coun- 
try. Its  highest  and  richest  blessings  are  invisible. 
They  are  the  gifts  and  graces  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
The  prison  doors  opened  to  them  that  were  bound, 
the  blind  restored  to  sight,  thfe  dead  made  alive, 
rebels  pardoned,  aliens  brought  back  to  God,  apos- 
tates changed  into  sons,  earth  and  heaven  reconciled, 
hell  vanquished,  angels  rejoicing,  and  all  things  has- 
tening forward  to  that  glorious  consummation  when 
the  Saviour  of  the  world,  crowned  with  His  many 
crowns,  shall  come  to  "present  His  Church  to  Him- 
self, a  glorious  Church,  not  having  spot,  or  wrinkle, 
or  any  such  thing,  but  holy  and  without  blemish," — 
tJicse  are  the  munificent  results  which  it  has  pleased 
God  to  connect  with  the  labors  of  a  sound  and  evan- 
gelical ministry.  And  when  we  contemplate  them, 
remembering  especially  that  it  will  take  eternity  to 
disclose  their  real  grandeur,  and  that  we  cannot,  in 


Not  a  Priesthood.  425 

our  present  imperfect  state,  grasp  the  issues  involved 
even  in  the  salvation  of  a  single  soul,  we  feel  that 
the  office  which  is  clothed  with  the  chief  instru- 
mental agency  in  bringing  about  these  results,  well 
deserves  to  be  signalized  as  "  a  good  work" ;  and 
that  meekly  and  worthily  to  bear  it,  were  a  greater 
honor  than  to  wear  a  diadem. 

I  omit  the  remaining  topics  proper  to  this  branch 
of  the  subject,  and  hasten  to  conclude  this  too  pro- 
tracted discourse,  by  stating  two  or  three  only  of  the 
various  reflections  suggested  by  the  discussion  with 
which  we  have  been  occupied. 

I.  We  are  admonished  of  the  danger  of  innovating 
upon  Christ's  institutions . 

Our  Saviour  appointed  twelve  men,  to  whom  sub- 
sequently He  added  another,  as  His  apostles.  The 
apostolic  office  being  temporary  (as  can  be  shown  by 
ample  evidence),  they  appointed,  under  the  authority 
with  which  they  were  clothed,  other  officers  as  per- 
manent rulers  and  teachers  of  the  Church.  The 
principal  of  these  was  the  presbyter  or  bishop.  The 
bishops  were  of  equal  rank;  their  power  was  simply 
ministerial  and  declarative ;  and  they  were  sent  forth, 
not  to  offer  sacrifices,  but  to  preach  the  Gospel. 

Scarcely  were  the  apostles  laid  in  their  graves 
before  contests  for  the  pre-eminence  arose  among 
these  bishops.  As  those  who  held  the  metropolitan 
and  other  influential  churches  succeeded  in  subjecting 

36* 


426  The  Christian  Ministry 


their  obscurer  brethren  to  their  control,  the  theory 
was  by  degrees  invented  and  propagated  that  the 
ministry  had  been  established  with  "  three  orders," 
instead  of  one.  Nor  did  the  encroachment  upon  the 
primitive  polity  stop  with  this  change  in  its  external 
form.  A  "priesthood"  could  wield  more  poiver  \k\^'c\. 
a  "  ministry."  The  Levitical  scheme  was,  therefore, 
re-enacted ;  and  the  ministry  stood  before  the  world 
a  sacerdotal  order,  armed  with  plenary  authority  as 
the  priests  of  the  Most  High  God,  and  charged,  pro- 
visionally, with  the  salvation  or  perdition  of  the  race. 
The  introduction  of  this  element  into  the  Church 
could  not  fail  to  tell  with  disastrous  effect  upon  its 
character.  There  is  no  peculiarity  of  the  apostolic 
church  more  marked  than  its  simplicity.  Simple  in 
its  organization,  simple  in  its  sacraments,  simple  in 
its  worship,  simple  in  the  whole  cast  and  tone  of  its 
ministrations,  its  Doric  plainness  and  dignity  were 
in  striking  contrast  with  the  gorgeous  ceremonial  of 
the  temple.  But  this  attribute  could  not  cohere  with 
a  sacerdotal  system.  The  embryo  priests,  therefore, 
addressed  themselves  to  the  work  of  reform.  And 
with  such  vigor  have  their  successors  carried  forward 
the  work,  that  the  Church  they  have  made  is  as  un- 
like the  Church  organized  by  the  apostles  as  this 
latter  was  unlike  the  Church  of  the  Theocracy.  The 
simplest  of  institutes  has  been  transformed  into  a 
gigantic  hierarchy,  the  complexity  and  magnificence 


Not  a  Priesthood.  427 

of  whose  outward  structure  is  in  startling  contrast 
with  the  spiritual  penury  of  its  interior, — a  sphere  of 
crystals  enclosing  a  lump  of  clay. 

Let  not  the  lesson  be  lost  upon  the  present  gen- 
eration. These  disastrous  results  can  all  be  traced 
back  to  apparently  trivial  deviations  from  the  apos- 
tolic teaching  and  order  in  the  primitive  Church. 
Like  two  brooks  which  have  contiguous  sources, 
the  false  and  the  true  imperceptibly  diverged  from 
each  other,  until  their  respective  currents  came  to  be 
established  in  precisely  opposite  directions.  And  it 
behoves  all  Churches  to  consider  that  their  purity 
and  safety  lie,  under  God,  in  a  scrupulous  adherence, 
as  well  in  government  and  worship  as  in  doctrine, 
to  the  canons  of  the  New  Testament.  Innovations 
conceded,  in  the  first  instance,  to  a  fastidious  or  per- 
verted popular  taste,  may  come,  after  a  while,  like  the 
obsolete  rites  revived  in  the  second  century,  to  be 
challenged  as  of  Divine  appointment.  And  a  Church 
which  forsook  its  Lord  to  make  His  religion  more 
palatable  to  the  world,  may  find  itself,  in  the  end, 
indissolubly  wedded  to  the  world  and  repudiated  by 
its  Lord.  "  The  Lord  is  with  you  while  ye  be  with 
Him:  and  if  ye  seek  Him,  He  will  be  found  of  you  : 
but  if  ye  forsake  Him,  He  will  forsake  you." 

2.  It  is  evident  that  tlie  ruling  eldership  mid  the 
laity  in  general  have  a  vital  interest  in  preserving  the 
integrity  and  piirity  of  the  ministry. 


428  The  Chris tian  Ministry 

The  ministry  was  instituted,  not  for  the  ease  or 
aggrandizement  of  those  who  might  be  appointed  to 
discharge  its  functions,  but  for  the  glory  of  God  and 
the  good  of  mankind.  And  as  no  other  office  may 
compare  with  it  for  usefulness,  when  kept  within  its 
legitimate  sphere,  so  there  is  none  which,  debased 
and  prostituted,  is  so  fruitful  of  mischief.  Spurning 
the  petty  tyranny  of  the  dungeon  and  the  stake,  this 
agency  is  one  which  deals  out  damnation  to  men's 
souls.  It  may  even  be  doubted  whether,  confining 
the  remark  to  Christendom,  any  single  instrumen- 
tality has  consigned  more  victims  to  perdition  than 
that  of  incompetent,  faithless,  and  heretical  ministers. 

Your  concern,  therefore,  in  the  character  of  the 
ministry  is  direct  and  profound.  It  is  of  the  last 
moment  to  you  that  it  be  orthodox,  pure,  intelli- 
gent, faithful.  And  you  have  a  deep  stake  in  un- 
derstanding what  its  nature  and  authority  are ;  what 
it  was  ordained  to  do  in  the  matter  of  your  salvation, 
and  what  it  cannot  do.  It  behoves  you  to  know  that 
we  have  no  sacerdotal  powers ;  that  the  sacraments 
we  administer  have  no  inherent  efficacy  to  wash 
away  your  sins  and  insure  your  justification;  that 
there  is  no  atonement  for  you  but  in  the  blood  of 
the  cross,  and  no  absolution  but  that  which  God 
pronounces;  that  neither  by  ceremonial  expurgation 
nor  official  intercession  can  we  shield  you  from  the 
curse  of  the  law ;  that  you  arc  to  rely  upon  the  mes- 


Not  a  Priesthood.  429 

sages  we  deliver  only  in  so  far  as  you  find  them  in 
harmony  with  the  Scriptures  ;  that  our  whole  office 
is  to  stand  like  John  the  Baptist  and  cry,  "  Behold 
THE  Lamb  of  God;"  and  that  if  you  do  not  look  in 
penitence  and  faith  to  the  Lamb  of  God,  you  may 
spend  a  lifetime  in  attending  upon  the  pompous  rites 
of  a  Roman  cathedral,  or  in  listening  to  the  most 
eloquent  discourses  from  a  Protestant  pulpit,  and  go 
down  at  length  to  a  deeper  hell  than  Sodom  and 
Gomorrah. 

These  things  it  is  meet  you  should  know,  and 
ponder  with  all  the  seriousness  which  befits  such 
momentous  themes.  And  if  a  ministry  should  rise 
up  and  gainsay  these  truths  and  arrogate  the  powers 
here  disclaimed,  and  invite  you  to  trust  for  the 
remission  of  your  sins  and  the  cleansing  of  your 
hearts  to  rites  they  will  perform  for  you,  and,  in  a 
word,  propose  to  take  your  salvation  into  their  hands, 
then  consider  well  whether  you  are  to  countenance 
these  sacerdotal  empirics  and  throw  away  your  souls 
on  the  preposterous  assumption  that  you  can  re- 
pent and  believe,  and  be  regenerated  and  saved,  by 
proxy ! 

Surely,  to  be  indifferent  to  the  ministry,  either  as 
regards  its  alleged  powers  or  its  qualifications,  is  to 
betray  your  own  highest  interests.  What  the  essen- 
tial qualifications  of  the  office  are,  the  apostle  has 
set  forth  in  the  Epistles  to  those  young  Evangelists, 


430  The  Christian  Ministry 

Timothy  and  Titus ;  and  his  exposition  may  be  sup- 
plemented from  the  other  books  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment. Bishop  Ken  has  shown  himself  a  skilful 
limner  in  bringing  together  these  various  features  as 
constituting  the  portrait  of  a  true  bishop  or  pastor: 

"  Give  me  the  priest*  these  graces  sliall  possess : 
Of  an  ambassador,  the  first  address; 
A  father's  tenderness  ;  a  shepherd's  care  ; 
•A  leader's  courage,  which  the  cross  can  hear ; 
A  ruler's  awe;  a  watchman's  wakeful  eye; 
A  pilot's  skill  the  helm  in  storms  to  ply; 
A  fisher's  patience,  and  a  laborer's  toil; 
A  guide's  dexterity  to  disembroil ; 
A  prophet's  inspiration  from  above  ; 
A  teacher's  knowledge,  and  a  Saviour's  love." 

These  are  the  gifts  to  be  desired  in  a  pastor.  It 
would  be  going  too  far  to  say  that  no  one  should  as- 
sume the  office  who  comes  short  of  this  standard  in 
any  particular.  But  it  is  the  right  and  duty  of  the 
laity,  and  of  the  eldership  as  their  representatives,  to 
insist  that  the  ministry  shall  at  least  possess  the 
general  character  here  delineated.  This  reasonable 
requisition  will  best  insure  the  fidelity  of  your  pas- 
tors, and  your  own  spiritual  comfort  and  edification, 

3.  Finally,  the  subject  with  which  we  have  been 
occupied,  has  its  lessons,  both  of  instructioii  and  of 
encouragetnent,  for  our  beloved  Church. 

*  Used  in  the  sense  of  presbyter. 


Not  a  Priesthood.  43 1 

It  is  our  privilege,  my  fathers  and  brethren,  to 
belong  to  a  Church  which  has  always  guarded,  with 
jealous  care,  both  the  regal  and  the  sacerdotal  pre- 
rogatives of  her  Divine  Head.  In  her  loyalty  to  the 
State,  she  has  uniformly  inculcated  upon  her  mem- 
bers the  duty  of  rendering  to  Csesar  the  things  that 
are  Caesar's.  But  she  has  resisted  all  attempts  of 
the  civil  magistracy  to  usurp  the  power  of  the  keys, 
or  to  impugn,  in  whatever  way,  the  supremacy  of 
Christ  in  His  own  spiritual  kingdom. 

With  no  less  energy  has  she  asserted  the  one  per- 
fect, exclusive,  and  unchangeable  Priesthood  of  her 
Redeemer.  In  all  her  confessions  and  symbols  has 
she  protested  against  the  doctrine  of  an  earthly  me- 
diatorship  between  God  and  man  ;  and  with  no  un- 
certain sound  have  her  pulpits  vindicated  the  honors 
of  the  Great  High-Priest  of  our  Profession,  whether 
as  usurped  by  Papal,  by  Oriental,  or  by  so-called 
Protestant,  ecclesiastics. 

In  the  faithful  maintenance  of  these  two  funda- 
mental principles  it  has  been  given  to  some  of  our 
sister-churches  in  Europe,  in  behalf  of  Christ,  not 
only  to  believe  on  Him,  but  also  to  suffer  for  His 
sake.  They  have  "  had  trial  of  cruel  mockings  and 
scourgings,  yea,  moreover,  of  bonds  and  imprison- 
ment," and  of  death  itself;  yet  have  they  "not 
counted  their  lives  dear  unto  them,  so  that  they 
might  finish  their  course  with  joy,  and  the  ministry 


432  The  Christian  Ministry 

which  they  had  received  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  to  testify 
the  gospel  of  the  grace  of  God."  Inheriting  their 
apostolic  faith  and  order,  and  emulating  their  devo- 
tion to  Him  who  sits,  "  a  Priest  upon  His  throne," 
on  the  holy  hill  of  Zion,  our  Church  has,  like  them, 
enjoyed,  in  an  eminent  degree,  the  gracious  presence 
and  protection  of  her  Lord.  He  brought  it  here  in 
its  feebleness.  He  cast  out  the  heathen  and  planted 
it.  He  prepared  room  before  it,  and  caused  it  to 
take  deep  root ;  and  it  filled  the  land.  The  hills 
are  covered  with  the  shadow  of  it,  and  the  boughs 
thereof  are  like  the  goodly  cedars.  She  has  sent 
out  her  boughs  unto  the  sea,  and  her  branches  unto 
the  river.  Upon  no  other  Church  of  our  age  has 
God  bestowed  so  rich  a  heritage ;  to  none  has  He 
confided  a  loftier  mission.  The  largest  Presbyterian 
body  in  the  world,  covering  an  expanse  of  territory 
which  assimilates  our  General  Assembly  to  Congress 
itself,  as  a  national  convocation,  supplied  with  a  thor- 
oughly educated  and  evangelical  ministry,  endowed 
with  the  amplest  resources  of  every  kind,  and  with  a 
noble  equipment  of  benevolent  agencies  for  devel- 
oping and  applying  these  resources  in  the  most  ef- 
fective manner, — where  should  our  gratitude  find  a 
limit,  or  who  shall  define  the  measure  of  our  respon- 
sibility ? 

Let  us  not  forget,  in  the  interchange  of  our  grate- 
ful congratulations,  that  prosperity  like  this  is  fraught 


Not  a  Priesthood.  433 


with  danger  as  well  to  Churches  as  to  individuals. 
Through  the  abounding  goodness  of  God  we  are  a 
united  body, — not  only  homogeneous  in  faith  and 
polity,  but  substantially  agreed  in  the  principles  and 
plans  upon  which  our  high  trust  shall  be  adminis- 
tered. Let  it  be  the  care  of  this  venerable  Court  to 
foster  the  sentiments  of  conciliation  and  Christian 
affection,  which  now  pervade  and  cement  our  great 
constituency.  Let  us  discountenance  whatever  may 
tend  to  "  cause  divisions  and  offences"  amongst  us, 
as  we  would  the  introduction  of  false  doctrine.  Let 
us  cherish  a  profound  and  abiding  sense  of  our  abso- 
lute dependence  upon  God  for  every  blessing.  And 
let  us  never  forget  that  the  true  glory  of  the  Church 
consists,  not  in  her  wealth  and  her  numbers,  in  the 
pomp  of  her  ministrations  and  the  splendor  of  her 
outward  triumphs,  but  in  her  bearing  the  image  of 
HER  Lord  and  reflecting  the  beauty  of  His  Holi- 
ness. 

Thus  may  our  beloved  Church  be  perpetuated  as 
a  sacred  bond  of  union  to  our  national  confederacy ; 
as  an  impregnable  bulwark  against  the  aggressions 
of  philosophic  skepticism  and  social  demoralization  ; 
as  an  intrepid  witness  to  the  glorious  sovereignty  and 
sole  Priesthood  of  Jesus  Christ;  and  as  an  humble 
but  faithful  instrument  in  the  hands  of  her  risen 
Lord  for  preaching  the  Gospel  to  every  creature. 


57 


I 


